Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Creative Genius (Paperback)

~ (Author) "How do geniuses come up with ideas?..." (more)
Key Phrases: major cause categories, imaginary excursion, structured imagination, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Creative-thinking expert Michael Michalko offers a series of idea-inspiring resources and techniques. . . . CRACKING CREATIVITY is peppered with anecdotes and exercises to help push you to your creative limit." — How“Sometimes the craziest ideas are the most inspired. . . . "You don't have to score 1600 on the SATs or build your own computer to approach your craft with genius. . . .[this] book is filled with exercises that illustrate the benefits of looking at problems from different angles." — TheOrlando Sentinel"CRACKING CREATIVITY unveils the secrets of creative genius and brings life-changing creative techniques into everyone's reach. By comparing the thinking strategies of over 100 of history's most creative minds, the book shows readers how to approach problems with new vision and discover a world of innovative solutions to everyday challenges."—New Equipment Digest "CRACKING CREATIVITY delivers an arsenal of powerful creative thinking tools that can be used to tackle virtually any type of technical problem and create new ideas. The closest thing we have to a tactical instruction manual for thinking like a genius." —American Creativity Association

Product Description

What exactly is creativity? Why do some people seem to have so much of it? Can their secrets be learned? In this trail-blazing book, internationally renowned business creativity expert Michael Michalko answers these questions and more, bringing life-changing techniques into everyone's reach. Michalko has researched and analyzed over 100 of history's greatest thinkers-from Leonardo da Vinci to Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison to Walt Disney-to show readers how creative people think and how to put their secrets to use. It's no wonder that Entrepreneur magazine lauded CRACKING CREATIVITY as "Required reading for anyone in business." Packed with practical exercises and strategies for stimulating creativity, this original book will literally revolutionize the way you think and open up a world of innovative solutions to challenges that you face every day.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (June 26, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580083110
• ISBN-13: 978-1580083119
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #15,761 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was taken aback., December 18, 2001

By	J. Reich "trendputter" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Creative Genius (Hardcover)

A book for inventors, craftsmen, artisans, scientists, businesses, teachers, and most of all us students.
Michael Michalko's book made many areas fall into place for me, not to mention assisting my individual creative landscape, exercising my field of study, and mobilizing my creative engine.

Over the past year, I have been heavily engaged in memory improvement. Busy in such areas as loci mnemonics, peg systems, hypnosis, and many other regions. Cracking Creativity showed how rigid my thinking had become.
For example, pg.42 there is an experiment where students were separated into two groups. The groups were asked to read a passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. One group was asked to simply learn the passage and the other group were asked to read from "multiple perspectives," example: an author's perspective, another person perspective, also including their own perspective. Which group learned more information? Of course, the group that used multiple perspectives outperformed the other group. Furthermore Michael elaborates on this process and places many ideas on the table. He called this subchapter "Da Vinci's Multiple Perspectives," further along the chapter he elaborates "Take on a Different Role," then "Imagine You Are the Problem" and many more areas further along that blend to create a vast pool of creative thinking. I found this particular area very useful. Michael does not simply show problems in creativity without a creative plan-of-action for facilitation. He brings creative solutions to mind and elaborates on them in detail. He gives many examples for looking at a problem or solution, in many different perspectives.

Strategy Six: Looking At The Other Side, is an outstanding section in which paradoxes are shown and analyzed. A spectacular section of most importance, which I will not detail, one must read for themselves.

To my pleasure Michael thoroughly discusses, displays, and employs Mind Maps (Tony Buzan). Before Mind Maps are discussed, Michael shows a similar technique of Mind Mapping called "fishbone." Fishbone's are similar to Mind Maps and are an excellent idea organizer very similar to Mind Maps. Having read a number of books on Mind Mapping, I now recommend Cracking Creativity as "high priority Mind Map reading material." I rank this book second, only to be in favor of Tony Buzan's book "The Mind Map Book." This book offers many creative ideas that are shown for Mind Mapping.

There are many different techniques for creative insight located in this book, so many in fact, I only scratched the surface. Michael frequently comments on famous inventors, thinkers, and artists from science, mathematics, history, etc. in order to further his point of creative thought throughout this book.

For consideration: anyone reading this book should have a proactive mind and a healthy dose of perspiration otherwise an individual may not use the techniques provided. Many of the techniques provided require a pencil, notebook, and very little mental capacity. Group techniques are also extensively employed. Michael Michalko shows us the tools but they are useless if unused. More importantly this book showed MY OWN SELF how to think differently, analyze problems, create solutions, and even create more problems for which my mind now can easily produce solutions. In asking the right questions, Michael Michalko showed me perfectly.

I would like to recommend the hardcover edition of Cracking Creativity. Having not read the paperback edition, I found the hardcover edition of pleasurable type, large pages and diagrams nicely represented.

If I were to summarize this book, I would use the statement on pg. 158 under strategy five: Connecting the Unconnected
"Using this model, it is possible to see what can be done about randomly connecting unrelated subjects in thinking. The first step is to be aware that there is the possibility of this thinking strategy. The second step is to learn how to do it. The third step is to use this strategy as often as you can and to get rid of any inhibitions that interfere with your using it. "

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is all you need for the subject!, April 13, 2000

By	Kelvin Y C Fung (Hong Kong SAR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Creative Genius (Hardcover)

If you type in the word CREATIVITY in any search engine, you are likely to get a REALLY LONG list of relevant titles and information. How can you tell which title is better? For me the best title would be the one that prompts you to THINK and come up with something ACTIONABLE.

Packed with facinating stories, mind-stretching exercises, inspirating quotes, funny visuals, step-by-step guidelines and checklists, Michalko has successfully written two CLASSICS on the subject of Creativity. The two books give you ALL the powerful tools and techniques you need to generate creative ideas in split second. The tools are so useful that I have copies of the books, both at home and in my office.

I consider Thinkertoys as the ENCYCLOPAEDIA of creative thinking (TOOLS) while Cracking Creativity will definitely give you the MAGIC RECIPE (IDEA GENERATING PROCESS), which gaurantees creative output every time.

Get yourself a copy, I am sure you will find it ENTERTAINING and practical. I am looking forward to Michalko's third book on the subject. I am sure it will be another great hit!

38 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's In There Somewhere, January 5, 2000

By	Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Creative Genius (Hardcover)

According to Michalko, what are the best strategies for "cracking" the barriers to human creativity?

1. Knowing how to see 2. Making a thought visible 3. Thinking fluently 4. Making novel combinations 5. Connecting the unconnected 6. Looking at the other side 7. Looking in other worlds 8. Finding what you are not looking for 9. Awakening the collaborative spirit

The phrases "can activate" and "can enable" correctly suggest potentiality. However, if you are already convinced that you cannot think more creatively, you won't. Henry Ford once observed that those who think they can and those who think they can't are both right.

Cracking Creativity will help you to develop the skills needed to release from within all manner of ideas, perspectives, and insights which (until now) have been suppressed. When we face an especially complicated problem or especially difficult question, he suggests that we ask "What are the alternatives and options? How should each be evaluated? Where are there possible connections? Perhaps synergies?" Of course, after we think outside the box and come up with really cool stuff, we have to figure out how to get it back into the box. Perhaps that is another book Michalko will one day write.

On average, humans use only 15-17% of the cerebral cortex, that portion of the brain where the most important intellectual transactions occur. No guarantees, of course, but chances are that a careful reading of Cracking Creativity will increase the percentage you use. What are you waiting for?