Keith Sawyer has a lot to say about creativity and I find myself listening closely. He has a great academic pedigree and is a jazz pianist, does improv and writes games. So … he practices what he preaches. He focuses on some key questions – how can each person be more creative  and – how can the organization work together to translate individual creativity into organizational innovation. As that is my primary area of research, I dove into this book.

It seems that most books on creativity have steps or stages attached 🙂 I guess it comes with the territory of attempting to harness the creative impulse into something that we all can both understand and replicate.  Psychology has been studying creativity for decades and one thing we know for sure – these stage models work. Creativity is a non-linear process which is why there are so many ways to explore the creative impulse. It usually does not descend like a bolt of lightening – but instead responds to constant tending. This book is like a personal trainer for the creative impulse. Interesting exercises that can be done daily. Practice makes perfect! and it takes a lot of practice (10,000 hours according to Gladwell) to become an expert where you are comfortable in your own skin.

The thing I like most about this book is the emphasis on creativity as a discipline – you do it every day. The more you practice the process, the better the results, the faster the ideas, and the easier the implementation.  Just like learning how to drive – learn the process until it becomes automatic.

Steps are: (1) Ask (2) Learn (3) Look (4) Play (5) Think (6) Fuse (7) Choose (8) Make.  Similar to many others but again different.  Some great exercises, quizzes and lots of stories. An easy fun read.

Zig Zag: The Surprising Path to Greater Creativity