The Big Book of Creativity Games: Quick, Fun Acitivities for Jumpstarting Innovation [Paperback]

Robert Epstein (Author)

Book Description

Series: Big Book Series | Publication Date: July 27, 2000

In the modern economy, where most workers are knowledge workers, creativity and innovation are the most easily sustainable competitive advantages. In The Big Book of Creativity Games, Harvard trained psychologist Robert Epstein provides dozens of games and activities designed to stimulate creativity and generate innovation in the workplace.

Dr. Epstein describes the scientific principles of creativity that underlie the games, and how these principles can be applied to tasks like problem solving, new product development, and marketing. Timely and innovative, The Big Book of Creativity Games is the ideal book for managers to turn to whenever they need:

• Games that are easy to lead and fun to play
• Exercises that go far beyond standard brainstorming techniques
• Innovation jump-starters for team meetings and work groups

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Behind these creativity-boosting games is more than 20 years of scientific research by one of the world's leading experts on creativity!

Did you know that:

• Group creativity techniques like brainstorming can actually inhibit creativity?
• Failure spurs creativity better than success does?
• Creativity is not an exclusively right-brained activity?

For work groups and individuals who do creative work, here is a light-hearted book of games that are based on rigorous creativity research, not just hype. Written by Robert Epstein, Editor-in-Chief of Psychology Today magazine and a Harvard-trained psychologist, all the exercises in this collection are based on Dr. Epstein's groundbreaking scientific research on the nature of the creative process. The Big Book of Creativity Games includes dozens of fast, simple games that foster and encourage creativity in the workplace and at home. The creativity games help to:

• Produce dramatically innovative work
• Convince people that they¿re creative
• Get a new project off the ground
• Perk up a meeting
• Overcome a creative "block"
• Use failure to spur creativity
• Make people more inventive
• And much more!

About the Author

One of the world's leading experts on human behavior, Robert Epstein is Editor-in-Chief of Psychology Today magazine, host of the magazine's nationally syndicated radio program, and University Research Professor at United States International University. He is the developer of Generativity Theory, a scientific theory of creative process, and is a contributor to the Encyclopedia of Creativity. He earned his Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University in 1981. His research on creativity and problem-solving has been reported in Time magazine, The New York Times, and Discover, and his popular writings have appeared in Reader's Digest, The Washington Post, Psychology Today, Good Housekeeping, Parenting, and other magazines and newspapers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 223 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (July 27, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071361766
• ISBN-13: 978-0071361767
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,035,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed Innovator, March 6, 2004

By 

Shoppin' Poppins (Tennessee USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Book of Creativity Games: Quick, Fun Acitivities for Jumpstarting Innovation (Paperback)

This book was a total disappointment. I have never written a review online before, but if I can stop someone from buying this series I will feel like I've saved someone their hard-earned dollars. The subtitle says "Fun Activities for Jumpstarting Innovation". It should have said "Invent your own games because we don't have any good ones to tell you about". At least half the games were not games at all, but instructions for the participants to CREATE THEIR OWN GAMES!!!!! I COULD HAVE DONE THAT! One after the other are worded as follows: "Participants design and carry out their own exercise to demonstrate the importance of _____ for the creative process" -- (insert chapter topic in the blank). Sorry, that doesn't help me at all. STAY AWAY!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unleash Your Creativity, September 6, 2003

By 

F. Hamilton "[e-mail]" (St. Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Big Book of Creativity Games: Quick, Fun Acitivities for Jumpstarting Innovation (Paperback)

It is probably no accident that Robert Epstein's _Big Book of Creativity Games: Quick, Fun Activities for Jumpstarting Innovation_ appears at first glance to be a book for children. Its title, colorful cover, and interior design are reminiscent of children's books. While many of the games can be used in classrooms, the primary audience for the book is adults -- people who want to improve the creativity of those in their businesses or other organizations.

The forty-eight games in the book are based on Epstein's Generativity Theory. His ideas about the creative process grew out of his laboratory research. In addition to refuting popular myths about the creative process, Epstein identifies four core competencies that help individuals express their creativity (plus four more competencies to nurture creativity in others):
1. Capturing new ideas
2. Challenging yourself so that new ideas emerge
3. Broadening your base of knowledge and experience
4. Surrounding yourself with an environment -- both physical and social -- that encourages new ideas

Despite the fact that the book is grounded in theory and research, the information it contains is practical and easily accessible. The book is written in lay terms, and the information is as easy to understand as the juvenile format leads you to expect it to be.

The games are categorized by purpose (such as "convincing people that they're creative") and by core competency. It is easy, therefore, to find games to fit a particular need. Epstein devotes about three pages to each game, providing a summary of the game, its objective, the time required (ranging from 5 to 90 minutes), the materials needed (generally readily available), the procedure, and discussion questions. The discussion questions are indeed a key feature of the book, for the games are intended not only to boost creativity but also to demonstrate creativity's basic principles.

Epstein places a high premium on failure. He says that failure causes us to recall past methods of dealing with a problem -- and often discover a new solution. Without failure, creativity is not needed (remember the Apollo 13 mission). Many games involving the second competency, Challenging, deal with managing the frustration and other negative emotions that often accompany failure.

In addition, the book includes an abridged version of Epstein's Creativity Competencies Inventory for Individuals (ECCI-i) along with a self-scorer. These tools are effective for evaluating a person's overall creativity and each of the four competencies. It is easy, then, for a person to see which areas would benefit from development.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Creativity from one who knows the source, February 10, 2007

By 

Rolf Lindgren (Oslo, Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Big Book of Creativity Games: Quick, Fun Acitivities for Jumpstarting Innovation (Paperback)

The book is firmly rooted in science, and the exercises are proof: This is not a cookbook. You need to understand the rationale behind the exercises. The book builds up a coherent set of argument, points to further reading, and is a veritable treasure trove of how to be, and help others be, creative. I highly recommend it.