One unique feature about Valutivity is its collaboration between Leadership and creativity, via The Consulting Arts. This page is a compilation of some creativity and innovation resources we've used through the years--for both sides of the company. These are in alphabetical order, not in order of importance, quality or applicability.
Cameron, J., & Bryan, M. A. (1992). The artist's way: a spiritual path to higher creativity. New York, NY, G.P. Putnam's Sons.
- Excellent resource for individuals or groups who are struggling with idea generation or writers' block--an important issue, considering how critical corporate communications are.
Cepelewicz, Jordanna (2024). The Rest of the World Disappears’: Claire Voisin on Mathematical Creativity. Quanta Magazine. Retrieved 3/2024 from Link.
- "[U]ntil I was around 22, I spent a lot of time painting, especially figurative pieces inspired by geometry...But I realized that with mathematics, I could create something. I could devote my life to it, because it was so beautiful, so spectacular, so interesting."
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. HarperCollins Publishers. Link
- Every business team should understand the principles of flow.
Dente, Christine (2017). Lifelines; see her website.
- This singer songwriter has been one of my music coaches.
Fujimura, Makoto (2023). Theology of Making; Slow Art; see his website
- This bicultural (Japanese American) artist is also well-known as a speaker about creativity.
Gabota, Liane (2024). Catalizing creative cultural change; Psychology Today. Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mindbloggling/202404/catalyzing-creative-cultural-change
- Is creativity fostered individually or socially?
- "Creativity plays a fundamentally different role in cultural evolution than in the other two. While individual learning and social learning ensure cultural continuity, creative processes ensure cultural generativity; they secure that ensuring the appearance of new possibilities that might work even better than existing ones."
L'Engle, Madeleine (2016). Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art. Convergent Books. (Originally published in 1980.)
- This resource may be more useful for religious based non-profits looking to align decisions around creativity to their mission.
Jones, M. (2006). Creating an Imaginative Life. Trafford Publishing.
- Michael Jones, iconic New Age pianist who recorded Pianoscapes, is also a well-known business speaker. He consults at the intersection of leadership and creativity.
Maeda, J. (2013). STEM + Art = STEAM. Source: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/steam/vol1/iss1/34/
- STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art*, Mathematics). *Art: Introducing creativity into STEM.
- At the time this article is written, John Maeda is the Vice President of Design and Artificial Intelligence at Microsoft. He is the former president of the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
Robinson, G. (2024). "Ditch the boring resume...focus on creativy." Forbes
Matthews, M. (2023). "The dark side of creativity." Psychology Today.
Sprague, Billy (2000). Ice cream as a clue to the meaning of the universe.
- As a folk singer, virtually every song he sings tells a story--you might want to listen to "Kumquat May" or "The Wind and the Wave."
Thier, Jane. (2023). The skills gap is so big that nearly half of workers will need to retrain this decade. These 10 skills are most in demand . Fortune.com.
- Guess what's #1? Creative thinking.
🆕 Travers, Mark. (2024). The Phenomenon of Dark Creativity, Forbes.com #deviance #psychopathic #narcissistic
2024, January 26: From a corporate perspective, this is a pretty critical component of creativity that should be recognized and managed. Key divisions that should consider dark creativity: human resources, process engineering, and risk management.- Decisions based on this sort of creativity often do not match organizations' stated visions/missions. It is entirely possible that they can set an organization up for reputational, financial, and/or regulatory risk.
Tufted, E. (multiple). The work of Edward Tufted and Graphics Press LLC.
- Ed Tufte is an American statistician and professor emeritus of political science, statistics, and computer science at Yale University.
- He specializes in the creative side of presenting statistics in ways that influence, including multiple books and a day-long training series.
Von Oech, R. (1986). A Kick in the Seat of the Pants: Using Your Explorer, Artist, Judge, & Warrior to be More Creative. Perennial Library.
Von Oech, R. (2002). Creative whack pack: 64 creativity strategies to provoke and inspire your thinking. US Game Systems, Inc.
- These cards have been a useful and timely resource for a couple of decades. At times, they can provide immediate traction for "stuck" teams and creators.
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Keywords:
bookshelf bibliography creativity STEAM STEM innovation business statistics
Photographs: ©️2023 Karen Smith-Will