Book Summaries

In The Innovator’s Spirit, author Chuck Swoboda relates his own experiences with innovation and describes what he calls “the innovator’s spirit”: a kind of attitude and personal energy that each of us has deep down.

In his bravest and most challenging book yet, Seth Godin shows how we can thrive in an economy that rewards art, not compliance.

In The Creativity Leap, Natalie Nixon writes that since humans are hardwired to be creative, it is a competency that anyone can develop.

Erik Wahl, a visual artist, speaker and entre¬preneur, helps us unite the yin and yang of creativity — the dynamic new ideas with the dogged effort.

Executives from The Second City, the world’s premier comedy theater and school of improvisation, provide a toolkit for individuals and organizations to use to thrive in a world increasingly shaped by speed, social communication, and decentralization.

Rowan Gibson presents an innovation methodology for systematically stretching your thinking, discovering inspiring new insights and producing a portfolio of high-quality ideas and radically new growth opportunities. You will learn how to reverse-engineer creative genius and make radical business innovation an everyday reality using four key business perspectives.

Bestselling author Peter Sims explores the value of taking small, experimental steps in developing breakthrough innovation. These little bets help determine direction while providing critical information from lots of little failures and from small significant wins. Sims shares examples of successful breakthrough innovators at work and the dramatic results of their efforts.

The methods and mindsets needed to drive innovation and become game-changers in the 21st century are found by tapping into the discretionary levels of passion and initiative within us. In each chapter of Out Think, a key idea, behavior, or mindset shift is presented and techniques are described to show how the shift or idea can be implemented to ultimately drive the change that leaders want and need in their organizations.

Sales and creativity expert Mark Donnolo details six Innovative Sale principles –– pattern, variety, unity, contrast, movement and harmony –– that can be used to create better value propositions and assess your team’s Creative Quotient for Sales. This guide will help you incorporate creativity into your sales practices and better understand your customers.