The Creative Thinking Handbook

Businesses need to integrate creative thinking into their workplace cultures.

Through applied creativity, business owners can move their businesses from “getting by” to “moving forward.” Managers must foster openness to new ideas and implement innovations deliberately. Yet many businesses don’t cultivate an environment that’s conducive to creative thinking.

Business leaders’ future success will rely not on what they know or what worked in the past, but on what they can create. Today’s innovative companies – Starbucks, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and the like – position themselves to innovate regularly and to use creative problem-solving. Using one-off brainstorming sessions is insufficient; instead, implement a company-wide mind-set for creativity.

Teams must commit to removing common thinking errors that constrain creativity.

Bad decisions often result from errors in thinking rather than errors in information. When employees view information without checking their underlying biases and assumptions, it affects their ability to keep their minds open to new ideas and to see clear paths...