Book Recommendation for Managers Seeking to Increase Workplace Creativity: “Disciplined Dreaming”

Last Monday, I provided a book recommendation for HR managers entitled Social Media Strategies for Professionals and Their Firms. Based on the popularity of that post, I have selected another book from my shelf this week which I think would be beneficial to all managers and business owners.

Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity is something I picked up earlier this fall, a NYT bestseller which I gleefully couldn’t put down. The author, Josh Linkner, is the founder and chairman of ePrize, a big player in the world of interactive promotions and brand marketing. In addition to being a successful entrepreneur, venture capitalist and keynote speaker, Josh is a trained jazz musician – a key detail for understanding why his book is so unique.

The focus of the book is on creativity, and how anyone – ANYONE, be they people who define themselves as creative or those who claim not to know the first thing about creativity – can learn to improve their “creative chops.” Including great exercises for building and maintaining creativity both individually and among groups, practical tips for brainstorming, encouraging creativity among your staff, and guidelines for rolling out creativity plans across an organization, the book relies strongly on the role of fun in the workplace for flexing creative muscles, and developing a healthy, original and imaginative work environment.

Being a lifelong saxophone player, I found a personal connection with this book as the author identifies skills, techniques and approaches jazz musicians use to innovate and develop new ideas, the use of which he then cleverly demonstrates the business world. The fact that Josh has applied his musical creativity skills – which, like any skills, must be practiced and honed – to much success in business is strong testament to the validity of his approach.

Whether you already consider yourself to be a creative manager or are looking to sharpen your abilities, you will find this book to be an incredibly enjoyable, practical and inspirational resource for both you and your staff.

To read more on the fascinating connection between jazz improvisation and business creativity, check out Jamming, the classic book by acclaimed innovation expert John Kao. To learn more about TrivWorks, follow this link.