Unleashing Creativity and Innovation: Nine Lessons from Nature for Enterprise Growth and Career Success

Unleashing Creativity and Innovation: Nine Lessons from Nature for Enterprise Growth and Career Success

by Madan Birla
Released October 2013
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781118768112

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

Creativity and innovation are the keys to both organizational growth and successful careers. People understand this, but they do not know how to unleash their natural creative potential. Drawing upon his twenty-two years of first-hand experience helping FedEx grow into a global icon and the last ten years consulting around the world, Madan Birla provides proven and practical answers. Readers will learn

  • How to build a reputation as a creative thinker and become management's go-to person for innovative business solutions

  • Four steps for unleashing their creative potential and generating creative ideas

  • Four communication skills to gain acceptance of your ideas

  • Two words that guarantee promotions

  • How to minimize internal and external negative influences that obstruct creative energy flow

  • How to stop self-censoring and how to confidently express their ideas

  • How to trust that all the resources for germinating creative ideas are within them

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Contents
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Preface
  7. Introduction
  8. Part I: Creativity and Innovation
    1. “What If” Thinking: The Driver Behind FedEx’s Launch and Growth into a Global Icon
    2. A What If Suggestion: The Reason behind my First Big Promotion
    3. Enterprise Needs Innovation from Everyone
    4. “I Like the Way You Think” Started Ram on a Very Successful and Fulfilling Career Journey
    5. Creativity Is Using Imagination to Ask What If?
    6. Your Simple Ideas Are Valuable and Much Needed
    7. Are Companies Facing New Competitive Challenges in the Current Business Environment?
    8. Is the Rate of Change Going to Slow Down?
  9. Part II: The Four Requirements for the Mind to Generate Creative Ideas
    1. Creativity in the Business World
    2. What if We Typed Using Only Our Thumbs? The Birth of the BlackBerry
    3. Ongoing Creativity and Innovation: A Must for Sustaining Market Leadership
    4. Innovation: Connecting Dots from Disparate Fields
    5. Generating (MINTing) Ideas
    6. M Stands for More Dots: Expanded Knowledge Base
    7. Leonardo da Vinci: A Classic Example of Expanded Knowledge Base
    8. I Stands for Imagination
    9. From NASCAR Pit to Scalloped Potato Production
    10. N Stands for Nominal Stress (Creative Tension)
    11. T Stands for Time
  10. Part III: Seven Unleashing Creativity Lessons from Nature for Creating the Requirements
    1. Nature: A Rich Resource for Understanding Ourselves
    2. Nature: A Fertile Environment for Creative Thinking
    3. Design in Nature
    4. Biomimicry: Learning and Imitating Nature’s Designs
    5. Behold the Birth of Velcro
    6. Similarities between Fruits/Flowers and Creative Ideas: The Natural By-products of the Various Living Systems
    7. More Dots (Expanded Knowledge Base)
    8. Creativity Lesson 1: Grow Knowledge
    9. Creativity Lesson 1: Grow Knowledge
    10. Creativity Lesson 1: Grow Knowledge
    11. Creativity Lesson 2: Be Persistent
    12. Creativity Lesson 2: Be Persistent
    13. Creativity Lesson
    14. Creativity Lesson 2: Be Persistent
    15. Imagination (To Connect Dots)
    16. Creativity Lesson 3: Trust Yourself
    17. Creativity Lesson 3: Trust Yourself
    18. Creativity Lesson
    19. Creativity Lesson 3: Trust Yourself
    20. Creativity Lesson 4: Stay Calm
    21. Creativity Lesson 4: Stay Calm
    22. Creativity Lesson
    23. Creativity Lesson 4: Stay Calm
    24. Nominal Stress (Creative Tension)
    25. Creativity Lesson 5: Take Risks
    26. Creativity Lesson
    27. Creativity Lesson 5: Take Risks
    28. Creativity Lesson 6: Minimize Negativity
    29. Creativity Lesson 6: Minimize Negativity
    30. Creativity Lesson
    31. Creativity Lesson 6: Minimize Negativity
    32. Time (To Think and Nurture Ideas)
    33. Creativity Lesson 7: Unplug Your Devices
    34. Creativity Lesson 7: Unplug Your Devices
    35. Creativity Lesson
    36. Creativity Lesson 7: Unplug Your Devices
  11. Part IV: The Tested and Proven Three-Step Innovation Process
    1. Innovation: A Three-Step People Process
    2. Leading for Innovation: Engaging the Team in the Innovation Process
    3. Gaining Acceptance of Creative Ideas
    4. A Proven Communication Model for Gaining Acceptance
    5. Successful Implementation
    6. Review in Advance the Idea/Proposal One-on-One with Key People
    7. Looking out the Window and Taking Action to Stay One Step ahead of the Competition
  12. Part V: Two Leading for Innovation Lessons from Nature for Engaging Your Team in the Innovation Process
    1. Leading for Innovation
    2. Leading for Innovation Lesson 8: Tap into Strengths
    3. Leading for Innovation Lesson 8: Tap into Strengths
    4. Creativity Lesson
    5. Leading for Innovation Lesson 8: Tap into Strengths
    6. Leading for Innovation Lesson 9: Promote Diversity of Thought
    7. Leading for Innovation Lesson 9: Promote Diversity of Thought
    8. Teaches Us
    9. Leading for Innovation Lesson 9: Promote Diversity and Adaptability
  13. Closing Thoughts: MINT in Action
  14. References
  15. Acknowledgments
  16. About the Author
  17. Products and Services Available
  18. Index

Product information

  • Title: Unleashing Creativity and Innovation: Nine Lessons from Nature for Enterprise Growth and Career Success
  • Author(s): Madan Birla
  • Release date: October 2013
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781118768112