inGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity

by Tina Seelig

Overview

Internationally bestselling author and award-winning Stanford University educator Tina Seelig has taught creativity to the best and brightest students at Stanford and to business leaders around the world. With inGenius she expertly decodes creativity, revealing an approach that everyone can use to enhance their own creative genius.

In today's world, innovation and creative problem solving are more important than ever to succeed. For many of us, however, this process is a mystery. Whether we are attempting to generate fresh ideas or struggling with problems with no solutions in sight, the innovative spark is out of reach. inGenius offers a revolutionary new model, the Innovation Engine, which explains how creativity is generated on the inside and how it is influenced by the outside world. Describing the variables that work together to catalyze or inhibit our creative abilities, Seelig provides a set of tools we can each use right away to radically enhance our own ingenuity as well as that of our colleagues, teams, organizations, and communities.

Seelig's groundbreaking work reveals that creativity is an endless renewable resource we can tap into at any time. It is as natural as breathing, and just as necessary for leading a successful and fulfilling life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062020703
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	04/17/2012
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Tina Seelighas a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the Stanford School of Medicine and is the executive director of the Stanford Technolog Ventures Program, which is the entrepreneurship center at Stanford University's School of Engineering. In addition, Seelig teaches courses on entrepreneurship and innovation in the Department of Management Science and Engineering and in the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University. She frequently speaks and runs workshops for executives in a wide range of disciplines and has written several popular science books for adults and children.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Ideas Aren't Cheap-They're Free 1

1 Spark a Revolution 17

2 Bring in the Bees 31

3 Build, Build, Build, Jump! 47

4 Are You Paying Attention? 65

5 The Table Kingdom 85

6 Think of Coconuts 103

7 Move the Cat Food 115

8 Marshmallow on Top 133

9 Move Fast-Break Things 149

10 If Anything Can Go Wrong, Fix It! 167

11 Inside Out and Outside In 181

Acknowledgments 203

Notes 207

Index 213

What People are Saying About This

David Kelley

“Few people have done as much to champion innovative thinking as Tina Seelig.”

Peter Sims

“Tina Seelig has written a powerful and practical book, jam packed with keen insights for unleashing creativity in yourself and others.”

Robert Sutton

“Tina Seelig is one of the most creative and inspiring teachers at Stanford.”

Tom Kelley

Tina Seelig has written a provocative field guide to 21st century creativity, with her energy and enthusiasm bursting through on every page. We all could use a little extra spark of creativity, and this book helps show the way.

Chip Conley

“In a world that’s in constant flux, creativity and innovation are essential qualities for successful executives and industry-leading companies. Tina has shown that we all have the ability to mobilize our creative spirit.”

Steve Blank

“Who said creativity can’t be taught? It can, and Tina Seelig has done it! She has created a new model, the Innovation Engine, that will change the way you think.”

Ori Brafman

“Tina invites us inside her Stanford University course to reveal that we all have creative potential waiting to be unleashed.”

Guy Kawasaki

Tina has shattered the misconception that you can’t increase creativity. In this book, she presents breakthrough ideas on how to understand and boost your ability to innovate.

Nancy Duarte

In this groundbreaking work, Tina has codified her years of teaching at Stanford and proves that anyone can be creative.

Editorial Reviews

Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carrie Barron and her husband, orthopedic surgeon Alton Barron, propose a "creativity cure" to foster happiness. This cure is made up of five steps—"Insight," "Movement," "Mind Rest," "Using Your Own Two Hands," and "Mind Shift"—which help readers tap into their creative potential and find satisfaction through tactile self-expression. The Barrons guide readers through introspective questions touching on family issues, psychological clutter, and self-mastery. They offer engaging case studies and a wide range of activities one can undertake to nurture creativity (e.g., designing a flowerbed, writing by hand) and encourage readers to just do and not judge. Neuroscientist Seelig (executive director, Stanford Technology Ventures Program, Stanford Univ. Sch. of Engineering; What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20: A Crash Course on Making Your Place in the World) also discusses the creative impulse but applies it to organizations as well as individuals, focusing on generating fresh approaches to everyday problems. She demonstrates, through numerous examples, that creativity and experimentation are both personal mindsets and values in organizations. VERDICT The Creativity Cure helps amp up the creative drive with a good deal of commitment on the reader's part. inGenius acts as a spark plug for managers and entrepreneurs who want to capitalize on the creativity in their organizations. [For The Creativity Cure, see Prepub Alert, 11/28/11.]

Library Journal

Seelig is a sharp observer and a gentle and thoughtful writer.

Miami Herald

Many of us believe that we’re either born with creativity or we’re not. Tina Seelig, author of inGENIUS: A Crash Course on Creativity, and award-winning educator at Stanford University, says that’s wrong: Creativity can be easily taught and learned.

USA Weekend

inGenius is a fascinating blueprint for any company that’s serious about creating an environment where new ideas can thrive, and many of Seelig’s students doubtless go on to do precisely that.

Fortune Magazine

Tina is the most inspirational creativity voice I know.

Geoffrey Moore

Tina invites us inside her Stanford University course to reveal that we all have creative potential waiting to be unleashed.

Ori Brafman

In a world that’s in constant flux, creativity and innovation are essential qualities for successful executives and industry-leading companies. Tina has shown that we all have the ability to mobilize our creative spirit.

Chip Conley

Who said creativity can’t be taught? It can, and Tina Seelig has done it! She has created a new model, the Innovation Engine, that will change the way you think.

Steve Blank

In this groundbreaking work, Tina has codified her years of teaching at Stanford and proves that anyone can be creative.

Nancy Duarte

Tina has shattered the misconception that you can’t increase creativity. In this book, she presents breakthrough ideas on how to understand and boost your ability to innovate.

Guy Kawasaki

Tina Seelig has written a provocative field guide to 21st century creativity, with her energy and enthusiasm bursting through on every page. We all could use a little extra spark of creativity, and this book helps show the way.

Tom Kelley

Few people have done as much to champion innovative thinking as Tina Seelig.

David Kelley

Tina Seelig is one of the most creative and inspiring teachers at Stanford.

Robert Sutton

Tina Seelig has written a powerful and practical book, jam packed with keen insights for unleashing creativity in yourself and others.

Peter Sims