Unlocking Creativity audiobook cover - How to Solve Any Problem and Make the Best Decisions by Shifting Creative Mindsets

Unlocking Creativity

How to Solve Any Problem and Make the Best Decisions by Shifting Creative Mindsets

Michael Roberto

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Management & LeadershipCreativity

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Unlocking Creativity
The Creativity Paradox+
The Linear Mind-set+
The Benchmarking Mind-set+
The Prediction Mind-set+
The Structural Mind-set+
The Focus Mind-set+
The Naysayer Mind-set+
Actionable Advice+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 8
Why do many companies fail to achieve creative greatness despite their leaders valuing creativity?
  • A. They lack employees with natural creative talent and struggle to hire innovators.
  • B. They perpetuate workplace structures and practices that actively discourage creativity.
  • C. They spend too much capital on research and development rather than execution.
  • D. They focus entirely on disruptive innovation while ignoring incremental changes.
Question 2 of 8
According to the text, why did six-year-olds outperform business school graduates in the spaghetti and marshmallow tower challenge?
  • A. The children spent more time creating a concrete plan before building.
  • B. The graduates lacked the technical skills required for structural engineering.
  • C. The children used an iterative approach of experimenting rather than sticking to a rigid plan.
  • D. The graduates over-analyzed their competitors instead of focusing on their own towers.
Question 3 of 8
How does the chainsaw manufacturer Stihl successfully avoid the 'benchmarking mind-set'?
  • A. By outsourcing labor to reduce costs and matching competitors' prices.
  • B. By heavily imitating the successful strategies of other market leaders.
  • C. By embracing 'lopsidedness' and focusing on its own unique strengths, like in-house manufacturing.
  • D. By constantly surveying competitors to ensure their products are identical to the industry standard.
Question 4 of 8
What is a major negative consequence of the 'prediction mind-set' in business?
  • A. It causes leaders to abandon hierarchical structures too quickly.
  • B. It forces teams to release unfinished prototypes to the market.
  • C. It leads to an over-reliance on the 'devil's advocate' role during brainstorming sessions.
  • D. It prevents smaller, slow-ripening projects from getting funding because they can't promise unrealistic growth.
Question 5 of 8
What did Google’s People’s Analytics team discover was the most important quality of high-performing teams?
  • A. A completely flat, egalitarian management structure.
  • B. An environment of psychological safety where taking risks is encouraged.
  • C. A team composed entirely of 'rock star' creative individuals.
  • D. A strict hierarchical structure with clearly defined leadership roles.
Question 6 of 8
How does the text suggest overcoming the 'focus mind-set,' as demonstrated by Mark Twain's writing process?
  • A. By engaging in five-day 'creativity sprints' to eliminate all distractions.
  • B. By isolating oneself in a remote location to achieve hyperfocused creativity.
  • C. By setting a complex project aside and interleaving periods of focus on other projects.
  • D. By breaking down a large project into smaller, highly scheduled daily tasks.
Question 7 of 8
How can teams effectively use a 'devil's advocate' without falling into the 'naysayer mind-set'?
  • A. By assigning the role to the same highly critical person in every meeting.
  • B. By rotating the role among different members and having them ask probing, constructive questions.
  • C. By ensuring the devil's advocate focuses exclusively on identifying the weak points of an idea.
  • D. By eliminating the devil's advocate role entirely to prevent shared information bias.
Question 8 of 8
What actionable technique from improvisational comedy does the author recommend to foster creativity?
  • A. Responding to new ideas with 'Yes, and...' to build upon them.
  • B. Using 'Yes, but...' to constructively point out potential flaws.
  • C. Creating unexpected, humorous disruptions during formal meetings.
  • D. Forcing employees to perform their pitches without any prior preparation.

Unlocking Creativity — Full Chapter Overview

Unlocking Creativity Summary & Overview

Unlocking Creativity (2019) is a guide to unleashing creativity in the workplace. Starting with the premise that all people are innately creative, it argues that the best way to unlock employee creativity isn’t to hire all-star creatives or restructure your businesses. Instead, the key is to dismantle the workplace mind-sets that are stifling the creativity of the people already in your midst.  

Who Should Listen to Unlocking Creativity?

  • Leaders striving to boost employee creativity 
  • Workers wondering how to become more creative
  • Creatives who want to empower their coworkers

About the Author: Michael Roberto

Michael Roberto is the Trustee Professor of Management at Bryant University in Rhode Island. He teaches business strategy, managerial decision-making, and leadership, and is the author of multiple books on those subjects, including Why Great Leaders Don’t Take Yes for an Answer. 

 

© Michael Roberto: Unlocking Creativity copyright 2019, John Wiley & Sons Inc. Used by permission of John Wiley & Sons Inc. and shall not be made available to any unauthorized third parties.

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