About Keith Sawyer
Dr. R. Keith Sawyer, a professor of psychology and education at Washington University in St. Louis, is one of the country’s leading scientific experts on creativity. His new book GROUP GENIUS shows us how to be more creative in collaborative group settings, how to change our organizations for the better, and how to tap into our own reserves of creativity. After receiving his computer science degree from MIT in 1982, Sawyer began his career with a two-year stint designing videogames for Atari. From 1984 to 1990, he worked as a management consultant on innovative technologies; clients included Citicorp, AT&T, and U.S. West. He has been a jazz pianist for over 20 years, and spent several years playing piano with Chicago improv theater groups. His research has been featured on on CNN, Fox News, TIME Magazine, and other media. A popular speaker, he lectures to corporations, associations, and universities around the world on creativity and innovation.
Hello Dr. Sawyer:
Congratulations on starting such an important blog on Creativity and Innovation. We both share the same passion on the impact of creativity and innovation all around us.
Thank you for posting a link to my blog on your blog as well.
As a way of introducing your blog and some of the work you do to my readers, I was thinking that we can perhaps co-author an article that will be appealing to our combined readership. Please let me know if you would be interested in this.
Sincere regards,
Sanjay Dalla
Looking forward to F2F discussions sometime.
WHAT THE CATERPILLAR CALLS THE END OF THE WORLD, GOD CALLS A BUTTERFLY
If you always think the way you’ve always thought, you’ll always get what you always got. The same old, same old ideas over and over again. The future belongs to those thinkers who embrace change, break new ground, forge new paths, and transform the way they think. Discover how to look at the same information as everyone else and see something different by using the creative thinking techniques and strategies that creative geniuses have used throughout history.
Internationally acclaimed creativity expert Michael Michalko’s Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative Thinking Techniques have inspired business thinkers around the world to create the innovative ideas and creative strategies they need to achieve unimaginable success in today’s changing business environment of complexity and uncertainty. Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.
[Available at http://www.amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and most major bookstores. Visit http://www.creativethinking.net for more detailed information.]
Dr. Sawyer,
With your focus on creativity, you might like to see a copy of Jack’s Notebook by Gregg Fraley. It’s a business novel about Creative Problem Solving.
A little about the book and author: Jack’s Notebook depicts the story of down-and-out 20-something, Jack Huber, as he embarks on a journey of self-realization and life change. Jack’s mentor and guide on his internal expedition is Manny Gibran, a creativity consultant and expert in a process known as Creative Problem Solving. After a brief yet informative tutorial in the practices of CPS, Jack finds himself quitting his dead-end part time jobs, following his lifelong dream of opening up his own photography business, and, as an added yet unexpected bonus, falling in love. Jack even manages to solve a mystery and save his damsel in distress along the way.
About the author: Gregg Fraley works as an innovation consultant to Fortune 500 companies and does keynote speeches and workshops on creative thinking, innovation, problem solving, and new-product development. He is a partner in The Innovise Guys, an innovation and entertainment podcast. Fraley is a board member of the Creative Education Foundation (CEF), and he teaches creative problem solving at CEF’s annual Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI). He is also a professional member of the National Speakers Association (USA). Learn more at http://www.greggfraley.com/.
Warm regards,
Paula
It’s terribly short notice but you might be interested in a conference I am helping to organize called Overlap08 (theoverlap.org) on June 13-15 in West Cornwall, Connecticut.
It’s a peer-to-peer conference about the overlap of design (or creativity) business and sustainable innovation.
It’s two hours from New York – so breasonable-almost-if you lived in New York.
Last year’s Overlap site is a little more robust: http://theoverlap.org/2007/
If you are flexible enough send an email to info address on theoverlap.org site (08) and I’ll get it. Thanks for your site!
I serendipitously unearthed your blog on the science of creativity. it rules. that is all.
serg
Dear Mr. Sawyer,
As Capital Magazine, we are preparing a story about ‘how to create successful innovations ideas’.
I though my subject would be interesting for you.
Concerning our subject, I would like to ask you some questions.
If you please answer them, we will be glad to quote.
Our deadline is 18th of July.
-How to create successful innovations ideas? What are the secrets of the creative thinking?
-How can a employee find the best ideas of innovation for his company? Where he should pay attention for finding the good innovation ideas in a company?
Thank you very much for your interest
Looking forward to your answers
Best Regards
Elcin Cirik
Capital Magazine
Editor
0090 212 410 33 15
Dear Mr. Sawyer,
Last week,I got a big question! Why did my CEO give your book (Group Genius) for us. The question drive me for searching your informations about your books. Maybe if you check on a number of selling from Thailand, you will found that the big company bought a numerous of books. I am the one who work at this place, and received the book form my boss. (www.scg.co.th.)
By the way, I’m glade to read your book!
Sincerely yours,
Mathinee
I am delighted to hear that your company is reading my new book. It is filled with advice and information that can make any organization more innovative, and it’s based on the latest research on group creativity.
Many Asian countries are keenly interested in this topic; GROUP GENIUS has been translated into Chinese (both modern and traditional), Korean, and Japanese.
Dear Dr. Sawyer,
This is my first time to found your very useful blog. Because I will join trainning “Creativity and Innovation: Unleash Your Potential for Greater Success ” on 20Oct’08 support by my company. So try to find some information about this topic then I found your blog. I intend to read it (eventhough my English is not well (^__^) ). I would like to light up my creative thinking as much as I can… I am just staff in worldwide company but I love to learn. I intend to find your book GROUP GENIUS …soon.
warmest regards,
Kanokrat (Noy)
Thank you so much for this posting. I wish you great success with your training (which has the same name as my blog!) GROUP GENIUS has been translated into several languages and is available worldwide in English. Let me know what you think!
Keith,
Last year, The Economist ran a 6-month innovation project: Project Red Stripe. We’re about to publish a book about it. Called Inside Project Red Stripe, it’s published conventionally (www.triarchypress.com) and, over the next few months, online (projectredstripe.blogspot.com). It’s an account of the six-month project and we think it’s a good guide to innovation and teamwork in business and the media. Each chapter identifies dilemmas that are likely to face any innovation team or project.
I hope you’ll find time to have a look and that you’ll find it interesting.
Kind regards,
Andrew Carey
Thank you for this information. I visited Triarchy Press’s web site and the book looks fascinating: the publisher writes that the book “suggests new ways of approaching thorny problems and provides a wry insight into the workings of homo creativus.” I look forward to reading it!
Hi Keith
I love your blog, it falls squarely into my interest and business area. I will definitely be looking for your book on my next visit to the bookshop.
Regards
David Raath, Cape Town SA
Dear Keith
I wish I had discovered your blog earlier on.
I definitely see stuff that I can refer to in your articles, and I will have a look at your latest book.
I might drop a few comments here and there at my convenience and add a link in my blogroll to your blog.
Regards
Yann Gourvennec
Marketing & Innovation
Great! Thank you and I look forward to reading what you think about these topics.
Hi Keith,
I just saw your blog and found out very interesting posts. I’m looking forward to read it in future and I will link it in my blogroll because I’m writing about similar topics in my blog.
Regards,
Tomislav Buljubasic, Osijek, Croatia
I’m glad to hear my blog has been helpful and I look forward to reading your blog as well.
Hi, thanks for an insightful blog. Perhaps you’d find worth reading this: http://mostinnovativeideas.blogspot.com/
Best,
Hi Keith
Any reason why you don’t have a twitter? I would much rather get tweets about your new stuff and blogs than eg Florida’s.
I have just used the following quote from you:
“…many creative collaborations are almost invisible – and it’s these largely unseen and undocumented collaborations that hold the key to group genius.”
as a reason why twitter and equivalent sharing technologies are great for supporting innovation…
Cheers
Andy
PS glad to help if you want help with it, although I doubt it’s needed
Dear Dr. Sawyer, I found your blog very interesting. You migt be interested in reading our online magazine at http://www.InnovationManagement.se, sharing knowledge and inspiration within the field of innovation management. How to work with your creative processes is for ex one important part of innovation management. Welcome to visit us and we are always interested in voices from our readers on interesting topics to cover.
Kind regads
Karin Wall, editor in chief