Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

More than 82 per cent of companies believe creativity directly impacts results, yet few of us understand how it comes about or how to put it into practice. Some people say that creativity is about thinking outside the box, while others believe it is about being creative inside the box; but what if there is no box?The Creative Thinking Handbook argues that we need to identify and remove the 'box' around our thinking, so we canunlock unlimited streams of creativity for professional and business success. This book offers an integrated system of personalized insights, along with clear, practical tools and strategies - including the tried-and-trusted Solution Finder model.The authors show you how to develop your creative problem-solving skills to make better decisions with an individualized step-by-step strategy. Based on long-term research and testing of the creative thinking process, The Creative Thinking Handbook helps you generate more ideas and find brilliant solutions for any professional challenge.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• About the authors (p. ix)
• Acknowledgements (p. x)
• Foreword (p. xi)
• Introduction: why do we need new ideas, really? (p. 1)
• Part 1 Thinking About Your Thinking (p. 15)
• 01 The Decision Radar (p. 17)
• Mind-numbing patterns (p. 17)
• Metacognition (p. 19)
• Put your thinking under the radar (p. 20)
• Take action on your results (p. 22)
• References (p. 23)
• 02 Common thinking errors: selective thinking (p. 25)
• Killing creativity and smart decisions (p. 25)
• That's the idea! (p. 26)
• The bias that binds (p. 27)
• References (p. 33)
• 03 Common thinking errors: reactive thinking (p. 35)
• System 1 vs System 2 (p. 36)
• The need for speed (p. 38)
• In the heat of the moment (p. 40)
• Letting information overload you (p. 45)
• References (p. 49)
• 04 Common thinking errors: assumptive thinking (p. 50)
• They're everywhere! (p. 50)
• Challenging assumptions (p. 51)
• Bad assumptive moves (p. 54)
• Rules are made to be broken (p. 58)
• References (p. 62)
• Part 2 The Solution Finder (p. 65)
• 05 The context for creative problem solving (p. 67)
• Are you market-driven or market-driving? (p. 67)
• A winning process (p. 68)
• Divergent and convergent thinking (p. 70)
• The Creativity toolkit (p. 75)
• References (p. 75)
• 06 The Solution Finder Step 1: Understanding (p. 77)
• Define the challenge (p. 77)
• The Understanding toolkit (p. 80)
• Understanding checklist: dos and don'ts (p. 91)
• References (p. 93)
• 07 The Solution Finder Step 2: Ideation (p. 95)
• Generative thinking (p. 95)
• Brainstorming - does it work? (p. 95)
• How to be better at brainstorming (p. 101)
• The 'correct' brainstorming strategy (p. 104)
• References (p. 113)
• 08 The Solution Finder Step 2: Ideation toolkit (p. 115)
• Creativity on demand (p. 115)
• The Ideation toolkit (p. 116)
• Ideation checklist: dos and don'ts (p. 133)
• References (p. 135)
• 09 The Solution Finder Step 3: Analysis (p. 136)
• Evaluate ideas (p. 136)
• The Analysis toolkit (p. 140)
• 1 Sort (p. 141)
• 2 Screen (p. 142)
• 3 Select (p. 145)
• Analysis checklist: dos and don'ts (p. 150)
• References (p. 152)
• 10 The Solution Finder Step 4: Direction (p. 153)
• Turn ideas into action (p. 153)
• The Direction toolkit (p. 156)
• Direction checklist: dos and don'ts (p. 172)
• References (p. 174)
• Part 3 The End of the Beginning (p. 177)
• 11 Commit to 'thinking differently' (p. 179)
• Putting it all together (p. 179)
• Decision Radar V2 (p. 181)
• Commitment (p. 184)
• Making time for creativity (p. 187)
• References (p. 197)
• 12 Creative leadership (p. 199)
• Innovation is a core leadership skill (p. 199)
• The end game (p. 200)
• Freedom to fail... and learn (p. 203)
• Make play a priority (p. 207)
• Innovate with optimism (p. 212)
• Supportive systems (p. 215)
• References (p. 218)
• Conclusion: where do you go from here? (p. 221)
• Decisions, decisions (p. 221)
• Stick at it (p. 223)
• Appendix: activity answers (p. 225)
• Index (p. 229)