The Accidental Creative


Book Description

Many of us assume that our creative process is beyond our ability to influence, and pay attention to it only when it isn't working properly. For the most part, we go about our daily tasks and everything just "works." Until it doesn't. Adding to this lack of understanding is the rapidly accelerating pace of work. Each day we are face escalating expectations and a continual squeeze to do more with less. We are asked to produce an ever-increasing amount of brilliance in an ever-shrinking amount of time. There is an unspoken (or spoken!) expectation that we'll be accessible 24/7, and as a result we frequently feel like we're "always on." Now business creativity expert Todd Henry explains how to unleash your creative potential. Whether you're a creative by trade or an "accidental creative," this book will help you quickly and effectively integrate new ideas into your daily life.




The Accidental Creative


Book Description

Have better ideas, faster, without the stress and burnout. It isn't enough to just do your job anymore. In order to thrive in today's marketplace, all of us-even the accountants-have to be ready to generate brilliant ideas on demand. Business creativity expert Todd Henry explains how to establish effective practices that unleash your creative potential. Born out of his consultancy and his popular podcast, Henry has created a practical method for discovering your personal creative rhythm. He focuses on five key elements: •Focus: Begin with your end goal in mind. •Relationships: Build stimulating relationships and ideas will follow. •Energy: Manage it as your most valuable resource. • Stimuli: Structure the right "inputs" to maximize creative output. •Hours: Focus on effectiveness, not efficiency. This is a guide for staying inspired and experiencing greater creative productivity than you ever imagined possible.




Die Empty


Book Description

“A must-read for anyone interested in moving from inspiration to action.” —Cal Newport, author of So Good They Can’t Ignore You Most of us fill our days with frantic activity, bouncing from task to task, scrambling to make deadlines and chase the next promotion. But by the end of each day we’re often left wondering if any of it really mattered. We feel the ticking of the clock, but we’re unsure of the path forward. Die Empty is a tool for people who aren’t willing to put off their most important work for another day. Todd Henry explains the forces that lead to stagnation and introduces practices that will keep you on a true and steady course. The key is embracing the idea that time is finite, so you should focus on the unique contribution to the world that only you can make. Henry shows how to sustain your enthusiasm, push through mental barriers, and unleash your best work each day.




The Right Kind of Crazy


Book Description

Adam Steltzner is no ordinary engineer. His path to leadership was about as unlikely as they come. A child of beatnik parents, he barely made it through school. He blew off college in favour of work at a health food store and playing bass in a band, but after discovering an astonishing gift for maths and physics, he ended up helping a group of scientists land the heaviest rover in the history of space exploration on Mars. This is the story of the teamwork, drama and extraordinary feats of innovation at the Jet Propulsion Lab that culminated in that landing in 2012.




Herding Tigers


Book Description

A practical handbook for every manager charged with leading teams to creative brilliance, from the author of The Accidental Creative and Die Empty. Doing the work and leading the work are very different things. When you make the transition from maker to manager, you give ownership of projects to your team even though you could do them yourself better and faster. You're juggling expectations from your manager, who wants consistent, predictable output from an inherently unpredictable creative process. And you're managing the pushback from your team of brilliant, headstrong, and possibly overqualified creatives. Leading talented, creative people requires a different skill set than the one many management books offer. As a consultant to creative companies, Todd Henry knows firsthand what prevents creative leaders from guiding their teams to success, and in Herding Tigers he provides a bold new blueprint to help you be the leader your team needs. Learn to lead by influence instead of control. Discover how to create a stable culture that empowers your team to take bold creative risks. And learn how to fight to protect the time, energy, and resources they need to do their best work. Full of stories and practical advice, Herding Tigers will give you the confidence and the skills to foster an environment where clients, management, and employees have a product they can be proud of and a process that works.




The Motivation Code


Book Description

From the author of Die Empty and The Accidental Creative, a new framework for understanding what motivates us and why. What drives us to unleash our best work? And how do we tap into that drive to get superior results with our managers, coworkers, and direct reports? As Todd Henry reveals in this illuminating book, drawing on decades of research and interviews with over 100,000 people, the answer is not one size fits all: some people are energized by a race against the clock, while others put in extra effort only when they feel part of a team. For still others, nothing is as motivating as the possibility of public recognition. Henry shows, in fact, that there are twenty-seven "motivational themes”, each with its own unique DNA. For instance: · Those driven to Achieve Potential strive to build an ideal future, even when others may not see as far ahead. · Those needing to Overcome must conquer whatever obstacles come their way, no matter how difficult or time-consuming. · Those who strive to Comprehend and Express are obsessed with mastering new skills and showing off what they know--which is often a lot. · Those who want to Make It Right thrive when systems are running smoothly and usually know the "proper way" to do things. The Motivation Code teaches us to decode our Core Motivation so that we can have conversations, make decisions, and even choose career paths that lead us to experience engagement and fulfillment. Once we know how to activate our inner drivers, we can transform the work we do into work we love.




Leading from Anywhere


Book Description

The ultimate guide to leading remote employees and teams, tackling the key challenges that managers face-from hiring and onboarding new members to building culture remotely, tracking productivity, communicating speedily, and retaining star employees




A Beautiful Anarchy


Book Description




The Wonder Switch


Book Description

"A powerful, generous and unforgettable book." - Seth Godin "A wondrous lens on healing ourselves and our world in this strangest and hardest of times." - Krista Tippett We are all born with the wonder switch in the "on" position, but somewhere along the way, our wonder is crushed. And that's when we begin to live out of a self-limiting mindset that shuts down our sense of possibility and purpose. Yet reclaiming your wonder--and with it, your life--is within reach. In The Wonder Switch, join world-renowned storyteller and professional illusionist Harris III in a journey to bring you back to the magic you fear you've lost--not the sleight of hand he performs across world stages, but real magic: love, hope, joy, belonging, meaning, and purpose. One of wonder's greatest powers is that it changes the stories we tell ourselves, writes Harris. With the help of his power-packed Transformation Map, you'll gain the tools you need to switch from the old story that leaves you unfulfilled to the new story that will make you a healthier, happier, all-around better human being. In this book, you'll discover: The surprising science behind the stories we tell ourselves and how they shape our lives Practices for "righting" your story from a broken narrative to a restored narrative The secret to breaking out of a Limiting Mindset and developing a Wonder Mindset Practices for moving from complacency to curiosity Why worry is a misuse of your imagination, and how to kick the habit




The Dark Side of Creativity


Book Description

With few exceptions, scholarship on creativity has focused on its positive aspects while largely ignoring its dark side. This includes not only creativity deliberately aimed at hurting others, such as crime or terrorism, or at gaining unfair advantages, but also the accidental negative side effects of well-intentioned acts. This book brings together essays written by experts from various fields (psychology, criminal justice, sociology, engineering, education, history, and design) and with different interests (personality development, mental health, deviant behavior, law enforcement, and counter-terrorism) to illustrate the nature of negative creativity, examine its variants, call attention to its dangers, and draw conclusions about how to prevent it or protect society from its effects.