Thursday, October 13, 2011

Book Review - Creatively Ever After: A Path to Innovation - Alicia Arnold

Creatively Ever After: A Path to Innovation

Author:  Alicia Arnold

Review:  This book is short and sweet…but maybe a bit too sweet.  The story centers around Nursery Rhyme Land, specifically Jack and Jill and their quest to not always fall down the hill.  The CPS process is interesting and I can see how it would work in real life and that is where I wish the author had set this book.  Setting it in a make-believe-land made it a bit too silly and childish for me, it was difficult to take the book serious with the childish approach.

Creative Problem Solving (CPS) sounds like things we have used in the town I live in to improve the city.  A large group got together and brainstormed ideas…some crazy and some not so and then broke them down into workable solutions to problems we faced.  The brainstorming part is my favorite with ideas like; covering the city in a glass dome so we wouldn’t have to shovel snow all winter…workable…no, but creative…yes, and I would love not to shovel snow.  The biking/pedestrian bridge over the freeway is doable and needed here(another great brainstorming idea.)

I think that this book has great ideas for businesses and individuals, I just wish the author had found a better way to illustrate the process.  Jack and Jill did indeed have a problem…but I found the solution they came up with a bit iffy at best, it did fit in with the rhyme the author used at the end though.  Maybe if the story used were a bit more grown-up then this book would appeal to a wider audience.  Great ideas, flaws in the presentation of those ideas.

Publisher:  Published August 19th 2011 by Alder Hill Press

Copyright: 2011

Pages:  182

ISBN:  9780983440512

Quick Review:  3 Stars out of 5. 

Why I Read it:  The Cadance Group was looking for reviewers.

Where I Obtained the Book:  Sent by The Cadance Group.

Synopsis:  Around the world corporate executives have identified creativity as a key component to success. Creativity breeds innovation. Innovation gets results. There is a call for creativity in the workplace; however, there are few solutions for building deliberate creativity skills. That is, until now. Learn how to consistently bring new thinking to your organization’s toughest challenges by using the proven Creative Problem Solving (CPS) process.
Discover simple ways to:

Develop breakthrough creative solutions
Generate more ideas, and better ideas, in a shorter amount of time
Solve the right problems efficiently and effectively
Build creative leadership skills.

With simple tools and techniques, alongside thought provoking illustrations, each chapter takes readers through a step-by-step creative problem solving process including:
·      Identifying the Goal, Wish or Challenge
·      Gathering Data
·      Clarifying the Problem
·      Generating Ideas
·      Developing Solutions
·      Planning for Action

The “hill,” as you might imagine, is a metaphor for your toughest challenge. Whether you are looking to achieve a daunting goal, innovate, or leapfrog the competition, learning the essential skill of applying new thinking to your toughest challenges has never been so easy. By following the simple steps laid out by Alicia Arnold in Creatively Ever After, readers are guaranteed to boost their creative thinking skills.

 Image of Alicia Arnold
Author Biography:  Alicia Arnold holds a Master of Science degree in Creative Studies from the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State College and an M.B.A in Marketing from Bentley University. Alicia is a certified facilitator of the Osborn-Parnes Creative Problem Solving process and an invited speaker at the annual Creative Problem Solving Institute. She is published on the topic of creativity with Bloomberg Businessweek, The National Association of Gifted Children, iMedia Connection and blogs about creativity and innovation.

By day, she is an award-winning, digital marketer and uses her passion for creativity and innovation to train teams on creativity techniques, develop breakthrough digital experiences and facilitate innovation workshops. Alicia is also a mom to two wonderful boys, a lifelong learner and someone who loves ideas and making them happen.


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1 comment:

  1. Doesn't sound like a book for me, but nice review :D

    Trev @ trevsliteraryreview.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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