Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All

by Thomas Kelley, David Kelley

IDEO founder and Stanford d.school creator David Kelley and his brother Tom Kelley, IDEO partner and the author of the bestselling The Art of Innovation, have written a powerful and compelling book on unleashing the creativity that lies within each and every one of us.

Too often, companies and individuals assume that creativity and innovation are the domain of the "creative types."  But two of the leading experts in innovation, design, and creativity on the planet show us that each and every  one of us is creative.  In an incredibly entertaining and inspiring narrative that draws on countless stories from their work at IDEO, the Stanford d.school, and with many of the world's top companies, David and Tom Kelley identify the principles and strategies that will allow us to tap into our creative potential in our work lives, and in our personal lives, and allow us to innovate in terms of how we approach and solve problems.  It is a book that will help each of us be more productive and successful in our lives and in our careers. 

Genres: Design, Nonfiction, Business, Self Help, Personal Development, Art, Psychology

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Hanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s true. All kids are creative, but we are very specific about which adults we label as ‘creative’. It got me thinking and I realized there’s hardly any escaping: As a child, you’re told to “go, and have fun”, you’re encouraged to explore, to fail, to get better, to try again, and again and again. The bumps and bruises aren’t a bad thing, they’re your badge of honour: you’ve tried, you’ve persevered.
And then you hit a certain more adult age and you’re told “to be careful, to study/work hard and to do your best”.
Notice the difference?

In a way, this book is about that difference. If you want to be creative, you have to play and experiment. It should not feel like 'Work', like something you have to succeed at. Instead, give yourself the permission to fail.

“A widely held myth suggests that creative geniuses rarely fail. Yet, the opposite is actually true. Creative geniuses are quite prolific when it comes to failure – they just don’t let that stop them. Research has found that creative people simply do more experiments.”

Creativity isn’t only for those who aspire to be featured in a Taschen book. Creativity isn’t necessarily about bringing something new to this world completely on your own. There are many forms, but there's one thing that will always be true: it takes action to get things done.
I like how that comes back throughout the book. The chapter names are not buzz words, no fancy vocabulary, but they are action focused: flip, dare, spark, leap, seek, team, move, next. There you go, all eight chapters.

This book is well written and easy to read. The authors have enormous passion for the subject, and you can tell. It’s in fact hard not to get infected, and it sparked quite a few new ideas which I had to scribble down on whatever paper was near.
I did have to read this book twice though. After finishing the first time, I thought this book was all about case studies of people who managed to do it, but I could still argue that this didn’t mean that I would be able to. Yes, I know you can learn via case studies, and that they are often the best example, but the problem is that you learn about other people and how they achieved it, which doesn’t necessarily help you to get started yourself.
Upon re-reading though I realized that I was wrong: it is full of nuggets of advice. It’s just that in my first reading experience the case studies overpowered the general advice.

One other criticism is that, on occasion, this book does sound like a long promotion booklet for IDEO and d.school. I’ve done the math: 208 pages, and the company name IDEO is used 167 times and they refer 96 times to the d.school. That means that on average, every page you’ll meet one or the other, and sometimes both.
I wish they more often utilized the neutral ‘we’, ‘our students’ or ‘our clients’, instead of banging the company names home. I guess the authors are better marketeers than they think. Those names are branded into my brain after reading this book. I’m a bit annoyed by this now, but in a few weeks I’ll just remember the name, even if I don’t remember from where.

Don't let that hold you back though, if you enjoy reading design and innovation books, it's well worth your time!



Disclaimer: This book has been provided from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All quotes are taken from the pre-published copy and may be altered or omitted from the final copy.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A self help book that's really just a long recruitment brochure for the Stanford d.school.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a disappointment, as much because of my expectations as the book itself. I was hoping "unleashing the creative potential within all of us" would have a lot more application to education than business but it was rather relentlessly corporate in its viewpoint. So in that respect it has a lot of case studies where this CEO and that company employee prove that thinking outside of the rhombus pays off.

Much of the material is familiar. Be open-minded. Be willing to take chances. Carry paper for ideas. Do not fear failure, embrace it (I find it too fat to get my arms around). Doodle. Use whiteboards. Use blackboards. Use Sticky-Notes especially. Work alone. Work together. Play. Do not dismiss out of hand any idea.

It wasn't until I got to a lonely back-of-the-book chapter, "Move: Creative Confidence To Go," that my buck was walking the $29 walk. Here the Kelley Bros. offer concrete activities (sort of what I hoped the whole book would offer), five of which might come in handy in the classroom.

Thus, some gold bits are plucked from the mud. But, safe to say, it'll be a long time before I read another "how to" book on creativity. And if I do, I'll just make it up myself, checking off all the steps. Or not.

[Shkurenko Sanya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Не треба так.

Не треба називати книгою великий рекламний проспект своєї агенції. Зрозуміло, що всі кращі в світі ідеї було втілено за допомогою IDEO, а люди, які їх втілювали проходили навчання у dschool, але не треба майже на кожній сторінці нам постійно про це нагадувати. Це мєрзость, тіпи.

Зекономлю вам купу грошей і часу та коротко перекажу поради з креативного мислення:
- бери і роби;
- спілкуйся та проявляй емпатію до споживачів вашого продукту;
- мисли поза шаблонами;
- не бійся невдач;
- завжди носи з собою папір і ручку або занотовуй у телефон всі свої ідеї, що приходять до тебе протягом дня.

Ще можеш виконати десять вправ. Та якщо ви раніше стикались зі схожою літературою, ви вже їх знаєте. До книги можна звертатись, коли у тебе зовсім немає ідей, вона може допомогти з елементарними вправами. Проте чи надихне вона вас на якісні зрушення, я не знаю. Та попри все, на неї дуже багато гарних відгуків. Мабуть, то всьо позитивно налаштовані люди понаписували. Бо скептично налаштованих ("негативних") людей потрібно цуратись і обходити стороною. Так книжка пише, якшо шо.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book! How could I not, it's exactly my kind of thing - design, education, problem-solving, creativity. That sums up some of my favorite topics pretty neatly. I am between rating the book a 3 and a 4, because it was indeed inspiring and thought-provoking...but I just have a particular idea of how perfect the book SHOULD be, and it isn't quite.

To give props where they are due - there are lots of great stories in this book. IDEO success stories, D-School success stories, IDEO-influenced success stories, D-School inspired success stories, and...repeat. I mean, it's cool! The stories are cool. They are just very - "Let's talk about how awesome we are!" Indeed, they are awesome. There are few things I wouldn't do to be part of IDEO, or to take classes at the D-School. Buuut, no matter how fantastic they are, I get pretty tired of people talking about themselves.

The Kelleys revealed at the end of the book that the way they outlined the book was using a hub-and-spoke mindweb - and when they said it, I just thought "Ohhhh." Cause really, that's how the book felt. "Here is a core idea: build a strong team! Now here are 5 stories or examples that vaguely demonstrate the importance of teams, and are otherwise largely unrelated to each other, and don't make a larger, persuasive point!" Maybe this was just my reading of the book...but because of the way the book was laid out, I didn't feel like I was being brought along on a journey that helped create some home-hitting transformation in my thinking. Which was what I wanted, I guess.

I had also hoped there would be more wisdom imparted. More practical advice on what to do, steps to take, things to try. A lot of the "lessons" that were concluded from the various narratives felt rather weak and contrived. Yeah, when you want to implant Creative Confidence in the culture of a company, you should get the approval of upper management? That is sound advice indeed. Tell me more. There was a nice chapter at the end with a few simple creativity-inducing exercises to try, but I think I was looking more for a handbook of creativity, rather than a series of stories explaining the importance of creativity. Does that distinction make sense?

Anyways. It's true - while reading, I would read a few pages, then become inspired to jot down "creative" new ideas, then keep reading and jotting, reading and jotting. It provided fodder for my mind-mill that otherwise would have been fodder-less. It was definitely an interesting book! It's just, I can't say it was particularly well-written or that it taught me anything that another book on creativity couldn't.

Sorry, this is a pretty all-over-the-place review, but I wanted to record my thoughts before my mind got lost to other distractions. Overall, read it if you are interested in IDEO and the D-school, and are looking for general inspiration. I'd maybe look elsewhere if you're looking for actionable advice on how to be more creative.

[It's Blank · Rating 4 out of 5]

این تمرینای آخرشو بشه اگه توی دنیای واقعی انجام بدم دیگه خدا رو بنده نیستم. ینی منظورم اینه که چیزی که تعریف می‌کنه وقتی ممکن بشه دیگه دنیا گلستان میشه و این حرفا.

[Paul Grech · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whilst there is a lot of material in here, this is essentially an advertising brochure for the two authors' company IDEO and d.school. A large number of examples come from former students or co-workers and whilst interesting this does not really seem as authoritative. The main benefit of this book lies in the number of practical exercises to help people in the various stages of the creative process but, again, very little was original and most thoughts can be found in most blogs on this subject.
Something to read before going on to other books that have more meat on them.

[Devika · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book is good when it is well written and offers insight. But a book is amazing when it can actually make a difference to your life, to who you are as an individual. I would put this book in the latter category. I picked it up to get some background on a design thinking role I was hoping to apply for. Amidst these job applications, it's easy for anyone to feel jaded. I was in fact quite morose and skeptical of the value my higher education has created in my life. But the more I read this book, the more excited I felt about finding opportunities around me.

The Kelley brothers write very simplistically and this is a quick read. They discuss many examples of the difference that design thinking has made to people's lives. One thing that stuck with me was the "curse of competence" that they mention. It is the idea that when you are academically smart, the excessive pragmatism of external influences pushes you in the generic directions most people take in life. For instance, if you're good at sciences then you should go into engineering or medicine. But ever so often your heart will not be in it.

Essentially, failure is not only good but a necessary stepping stone to success. This book has helped me in deriving a sense of comfort from failure so that I'll be less afraid to try new things. Historically, all innovators experienced multiple failures till they found their breakthrough. What continues to differentiate them from others is their ability to persevere during the failures- the simple fact that they did not stop trying.

This book is also recommended by TED. And now, even I highly recommend it to anyone looking for some inspiration. Happy reading!

[Babak · Rating 5 out of 5]

امروز، 1 بهمن 97 مطالعه این کتاب رو برای بار دوم تموم کردم و باز هم مطالعه‌اش خواهم کرد... از اون کتاب‌هاییه که باید هر از گاهی چند صفحه ازش بخونی و رفرش شی و به خودت یادآوری کنی که "تو خلاقی، خیلی خلاق‌تر از اون چیزی که فکر میکنی"...

[Dakshata · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book starts off on a great note emphasising how everyone can channelise their creativity in a productive manner. It also gives some guidelines and examples of how design thinking created some great solutions that are interesting to read. The only one downer was that most of these examples were from the Stanford d.school programme, which started the making the book seem too focused on the achievements of one institution than the process as a whole.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book after taking a few online courses on creativity and design by IDEO. That’s how I found out about Tom & David Kelley and their ingenious d.school at Stanford. Since then I’m a follower.

Just the book I’ve needed lately, full of tools to pursue new ideas with confidence and to tackle design problems with simple changes with the premise that anyone can be a creative.
The caveat is genetic differentiation. Beneath the umbrella of humanity, there is a subset of us who are wired to choose to pursue our creativity as a means to an end. So I’d say just dive right in without a second thought and embrace this carefully articulated book to unleash your creativity!

[د.أمجد الجنباز · Rating 5 out of 5]

هناك حتما أشخاص أكثر إبداعا من أشخاص آخرين
لكن هذا لا يعني أن الإبداع حكرا على مجموعة فقط من البشر
وهناك أدوات وطرق تساعد على التفكير الإبداعي
تحدث الكتاب بتفصيل عن ذلك، وعن أمثلة لأشخاص وشركات تمكنت من الإبداع في باستخدام الأدوات المناسبة
المؤلفان هما مؤسسي شركة
IDEO
المعروفة بتدريب الإبداع وهي من أسست للتفكير التصميمي
Design Thinking
وفي الكتاب أمثلة كثيرة لأدوات من التفكير التصميمي وكيفية استخدامها.

سبب تسمية الكتاب بهذا الاسم
الثقة الإبداعية
أو الثقة بالإبداع
هو دعوة لأن يثق الجميع بأن بإمكانهم أن يبدعوا
فالإبداع ليس حكرا على أحد

[Mohsen Hosseini · Rating 3 out of 5]

دوست دارم برم استنفورد تیو کلاسشون شرکت کنم.
توی ایران یسری مدرسه ها شروع کردن به کار پژوهشی. باید به جای مزخرفاتی مثل سازه ماکارونی و اینها، روی فضا هایی که این کتاب میگه تمرکز کنیم.

[Christopher J Schauffele · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book provided little insight into generating creativity and putting ones creative to use. It’s authors seemed to use the book to promote their other businesses including a school for creativity. As most reviews of self help books go I would say this book could have been been about 25 pages long and captured all ideas the authors were trying to convey. It follows the typical bad book sequence: propose an idea, use confirmation bias to fill the book with fluffy long winded examples of how their idea works. I would not recommend the book and in the future will listen with caution to the person who recommended it to me.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Although, in full disclosure, perhaps it was the context in which I read it. First, I am embarking on a year of self-discovery/action (i.e. rather than always thinking "I wish I could ..." or "I would like to ...," I'm acting on those things). Second, I'm currently engrossed in a year-long leadership development program for work in which innovation is at the core. Nonetheless, this is a fantastic primer on the concept of design thinking and nurturing your creative self. Everyone is creative ... or, perhaps I should say, everyone is still creative since, as the authors note, most children are considered inherently creative. It is only as we go through life and gain a few battle scars (read: judgment/criticism/etc.) that suddenly the concept of creativity becomes something that we begin to believe is inherent / genetic rather than something we all possess and can harness. This book outlines the concepts of design thinking and provides exercises to practice your creative thinking - all of which can be easily applied to life in general not just the work world. It is a quick easy read; however, I will warn you that it is definitely not devoid of the current corporate lexicon - the 3 i's - i.e. (intentional use of i.e. here) ideate, innovate, and iterate.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid book about the notion that creativity isn't innate but can be trained/coached, with the courage to try new ideas and fail. The worst thing for the creative process is inaction, getting stuck in the planning stage. It provides tons of case studies, ideas, and examples for individuals, organizations, and leaders to improve creativity in yourself and your teams. At the end, it even lists a handful of exercises you can do on your own or with your team to get the creative juices flowing.

The one thing I didn't like about this book is that it felt like essentially an advertisement for IDEO and d.school the entire time. Enough, I do not need to hear the names referenced constantly. "We" would suffice to get your ideas across and not distract. Minor nitpick, but it also felt really strong at the start with excellent real-world examples, and it became more boring toward the end as they lost solid real world examples and just started spouting advice. Still good, just not as interesting.

[Wouter · Rating 1 out of 5]

It felt and read more like just another business "blahblah" book than anything about creativity, except showcasing a lot of examples where billions of monies where made, yay! "Talk to your end user, prototype rapidly, fail often, write ideas down" - really? I assume this book might be an eye opener to people who've never heard about those things before but chances are you have and you were looking to gain insight on something else. It gets *really* tiresome and irritating to read chapter after chapter about how great d.school is and destroys my motivation to say something decent about it on goodreads.
So no, pick up "make something 356" instead and get started instead of reading someone else's amazingly awesome business success.

[Arina Sydorkina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ця книжка має невдалу назву. Здається, що буде йтись про творчість у розумінні мистецтва та всього такого, і наче вона для тих, хто хоче писати книжки або малювати.
Але це геть не так. Книжка не про творчість, а про те, як впровадити інноваційний підхід у будь-якій справі. Як налагодити бізнес таким чином, щоб всі члени команди мислили креативно та не боялись пропонувати свої нові ідеї. Книжка про те, що творчий підхід у бізнесі та менеджменті - це хороший інструмент для досягнення успіху.
І головне - декілька хороших вправ я вже почала використовувати в своїй роботі редактора.
Ставлю чотири зірки, а не п"ять - бо всю корисну інформацію можна було б викласти коротше.

[Anastasiia Mozghova]

я прочла несколько подобных книг, но почему-то именно эта показалась мне скучной. в ней есть и полезные идеи, и удивительные примеры, но чего-то ей не хватает. я читала её несколько недель и постоянно откладывала её в сторону, так что посоветовать не могу.

[Arash Moharrami · Rating 4 out of 5]

حین دوره تحصیلم، از گذشته (تقریبا از دوره دبیرستان که به دلیل نامعلومی کمی افت تحصیلی کردم و علاقه‌ام رو برای درس‌خوندن رفته‌رفته از دست دادم) تا همین اواخر همیشه حس می‌کردم مشکلی وجود داره؛ اما نمی‌دونستم اون مشکل چیه. چیزی حدود پانزده سال از شروع اون روزها می‌گذره و تمام این مدت سعی کردم اول صورت سوال و بعد پاسخ اون رو بفهمم.
تا امروز که این کتاب در بهترین زمان به دستم رسید تا بخونمش و جوابم رو کامل‌تر کنم. شاید به این دلیل این کتاب تاثیر خیلی عمیقی روی من گذاشت.
البته ادعا نمی‌کنم که ناگهان من رو متحول کرد. در واقع فکر می‌کنم مرحله‌ای از فرایندی که شاید حتی خیلی قبل‌تر از پانزده سال پیش شروع شده بود با کمک این کتاب به سرانجام رسید و نتیجه‌اش چیزی نبود جز باور و برگشتن به خلاقیت ناب دوران کودکی و استفاده از اون خلاقیت (یا بهتره بگم گنج خلاقیت) برای بهترکردن زندگی خودم و دیگران.
اگر بخوام بازم خلاصه‌تر بگم کافیه بگم کتاب سعی می‌کنه بگه چطور«طبیعی‌ » باشی؛ کلمه‌ای که به قول کتاب، نزدیک‌ترین ترجمه به کلمه «خلاقیت» در زبان تبتی است.

[Mohammadhossein Kasraei]

تمام موضوع کتاب بر این نظر استوار است که همه انسان‌ها در بدو تولد موجوداتی خلاق هستند اما در گذر زمان و بر اثر عوامل مختلف بیرونی از تجربه‌ها و سرکوب‌های اجتماعی تا دشواری در تصمیم خلاقیت موجب می‌شود افراد خلاقیت ذاتی خود را کم کم از دست دهند.
کتاب اولین گام برای خودباوری در خلاقیت را انتخاب فرد برای خلاق بودن در مواجه با مسائل مختلف می‌دان��.
مثال های جذاب و کاربردی که حاصل سال‌ها تجربه‌ی حرفه ای دیوید و تام کلی در شرکت آی‌دی‌او و مدرسه طراحی استنفورد هست به پیوستگی و خوش‌خوانی کتاب کمک می‌کند.
جملات جالبی هم در جای جای کتاب وجود دارد که هیچ‌گاه از ذهن خواننده خارج نمی‌شود. مثلا:
انجام بده یا انجام نده،‌سعی‌م را میکنم معنا ندارد!
یا جمله ای به این مضمون که اولین گام برای خلاقیت عمل و اقدام کردن است.

در کل کتاب را به تمام کسانی که احساس می‌کنند باید زندگی را با تصمیمات خلاقانه‌تر و موثری تری پیگیری کنند توصیه می‌کنم، به خصوص به صاحبان کسب‌وکار‌های نوین و به اصطلاح استارت‌آپ‌ها که به خلاقیت بسیار نیازمند هستند.

[Dariya Loseva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Це не просто книга, це суцільний мотиватор до творчості з практичними порадами. Книга допомогає відчути свою творчу впевненність не тільки творчим професіям та ілюструє наскільки важливим є впровадження творчого підходу у повсякдене життя. Для мене дуже корисною була порада для пошуку повсякденних справ, що надихають у житті за допомогою вправи "Як минув день". Варто перед сном проаналізувати свій день і оцінити його від 1 до 10 залежно від кількості радості і дій які робив, данні записувати у календар. Зібравши данні за кілька тижнів можна їх проаналізувати аби зрозуміти, які справи впливали на показник щастя. Визначення речей, що додають радості допоможуть у правильному плануванні свого життя та фокусі. Проста порада і яка дієва!

[Hakim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was highly inter-active.

I found myself reflecting a lot about how I see problems and the opportunities it presents and immediately saw how powerful a different attitude to such processes could be. In addition, Creative Confidence brings tools that illustrates it's central premise of innovation very well, ultimately helping us on in applying the insights in our unique situations.

My wife has seen me reading this book really slowly, and out of curiosity she's asked to read it. I look forward to discussing the approaches in this book and eventually applying the concepts in our family building.

Thank you Tom, David!

[Neda · Rating 4 out of 5]

با توجه به عنوان کتاب انتظارانواع راه و روش های خلاقیت رو داشتم، اما اساس کتاب بر فرایند خلاقانه طراحی و تفکر طراحی در پروژه های کمپانی آی دی او است.
بسیار لذت بردم و بسیار آموختم. نثر ساده و صادقانه نویسندگان و پویایی متن سرعت خوبی به مطالعه می بخشد.
مطالعه کتاب به طراحان، مدیران و افرادی که علاقمند به طراحی زندگی خود از نگاه تفکر طراحی هستند پیشنهاد میشود.

[Reza Jokar · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب فوق العاده ساده و پرمغزی در مورد خلاقیت و روش های ایجاد اون هست، به طراح ها اعم از رابط کابری و تجربه کاربری و محصول پیشنهاد میکنم حتما مطالعه کنند. برای بقیه هم میتونه مفید باشه ولی به نظرم برای طراح ها خوندنش واجبه.

نسخه الکترونیکیش رو از روی اپلیکیشن"طاقچه" خوندم.

خودباوری در خلاقیت
ترجمه دکتر مهدی کیامهر و مرتضی خضری‌‌پور
انتشارات آریاناقلم
6.5.1399

[Corina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it's pretty good. Check it out ;)

[Jeffrey Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Kelley brothers inspired and convinced me of our universal creativity. There aren't "creative" types and everybody else. Creativity requires two things: an ability to solve a problem in a new or unconventional way, and an ability to empathize. This is Design Thinking. All problem solving should be human-centered and driven by empathy for the end user, whatever the product or service may be. Regardless of our educational background, professional choices, or college major, we should and can develop Creative Confidence. The Kelleys highlight stories from IDEO and the D.School--both are founded by them--demonstrating the eclectic teams they draft to tackle any variety of problems. In one example they enlisted a team to redesign a shopping car---using Design Thinking. This team included an anthropologist, an engineer, a computer scientist, and a graphic designer. Each person brings a special, but creative skill-set to a problem. When they adopt Design Thinking, magic happens: human creativity is unleashed and human lives are improved.

Creative Confidence crystallized my professional direction--before it I was mired in uncertainty about whether I had what it takes to assume more creative roles professionally. I have carried it around for the past few weeks, a new manifesto or professional bible. I also came away with dozens of action items. I have already put several in place. I recommend this book to anybody, in any firm, doing anything that touches the human world--it is especially relevant for people in the "start-up" landscape.

This book is filled with engaging success stories across all industries with people using Design Thinking. At times the book felt like a promotional for IDEO and the D.School--which it is--or a series of "shout-outs" to the Kelley brothers' friends and successful entrepreneurs--and their books.

Each of us has creativity within: "creativity comes into play wherever you have the opportunity to generate new ideas, solutions, or approaches. And we believe everyone should have access to that resource."

On Design Thinking they say "being human-centered is at the core of our innovation process. Deep empathy for people makes our observations powerful sources of inspiration. We aim to understand why people do what they currently do, with the goal of understanding what they might do in the future...An empathetic approach fuels our process by ensuring we never forget we're designing for real people...Design thinking relies on the natural--and coachable--human ability to be intuitive, to recognize patterns, and to construct ideas that are emotionally meaningful as well as functional. We'ere not suggesting that anyone base a career or run an organization solely on feeling, intuition, and inspiration. But an over-reliance on the rational and the analytical can be just as risky."

Creative confidence becomes a way of life "by adopting the eyes of a traveler and a beginner's mindset, you will notice a lot of details that you normally might have overlooked. You put aside assumptions and are fully immersed in the world around you."

By the time you finish this book, you will want to have your entire house and office space covered in white boards, and a notebook in every pocket. Creative Confidence means being prepared to capture all the amazing ideas that pass through your limitless mind. Once you start doing this, be prepared to swim in a pool of creative flourishing.

[Stephanie Sun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice birthday read.

I've always liked IDEO's processes and philosophies when engaging below surface level with them, but "design thinking" just *sounds* like bullshit. Design is the creative process of commercial entities, mainly. Thinking here is a mental posture. Design + Thinking just didn't seem to be more than the sum of its parts, the parts being two lackluster words. Tom and David Kelley would be the first to tell you that names matter, and so by their own standards the whole enterprise seems suspect.

The phrase "Creative Confidence" doesn't do much for me either, but this is a book written in the wake of David Kelley's survival of a serious bout of cancer, and that backdrop, although only fleetingly discussed in this book, gives the discussion of unleashing everyone's inherent creativity including yours! some much needed gravitas.

It's short, and they did a good job of picking stories from their long oeuvre to illustrate the principles they wanted to lay out. Take action, try, fail, learn, grow, believe - these are all things that we know, but if you need reminding of them, as I did when I picked up this book (Trump *cough* Trump), this is a good way to do that.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

David and Tom Kelley, as part of the design firm Ideo, believe in the importance of bringing creativity to business. Their enthusiastic passion for the process of creativity and design shows through in Creative Confidence, a book in which they explore what it takes to bring out and nurture creativity in business. This book offers an exploration of the activities and concepts that have helped guide them in their own business, as well as activities that can help guide you in your own company. The ideas of role playing and rapid prototyping are ones that should be considered by ALL companies before investing tons of money in new systems, processes and products.

Highly recommended.

[Timothy Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Though it isn’t a leadership book, i think this book is a great resource for leaders who either have a creative edge to their personality, or leaders who want to integrate more innovation in their work, or their teams. You have to get over the massive amount of IDEO and d.school name drops in the book (it could definitely feel like a 250 page promotional book), but if you’re able to not get distracted by that, the innovation concepts they talk through could be greatly inspiring and for you and your leadership. Chapter 7 is particularly and practically helpful, as they list a number of potential activities to do by yourself and with others to spark creativity and innovation. This is definitely a book to go back to and adopt some concepts.