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What is your favorite (non Todd Henry :) business or creativity related book?
What book has most impacted your thinking, and why?
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15 Replies
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The one that really started me down the path of thinking in new ways about my work was Orbiting The Giant Hairball by Gordan MacKenzie, former Creative Director of Hallmark.
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Orbiting the Giant Hairball is an amazing book! I think I first heard about it on your podcast.
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I love this one also!
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Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull and Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon.
I love Creativity Inc. because Ed talks you through the building of Pixar and how he managed his team and helped grow the company. I love his approach to leadership.
I love Steal Like an Artist because I feel like most art is “remixed” and it sort of gives permission for that. It talks about taking ideas from lots of different places and mashing them and making your art into something of your own.
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Creativity Inc introduced me to the notion of candor, which has been tremendously helpful!
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Hey Whipple Squeeze This kicked things off for me.
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Interesting – I’ve not heard of that one. I’ll have to check it out. (Welcome to the community, by the way!)
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A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger and Invisible Solutions by Steven Shapiro. There aren’t as many books out there that focus on clarifying challenges/asking questions as well as these do. Ooh, also My Creative Space by Donald Rattner. This is a gorgeous book visually, and it’s all about how physical space affects creativity. Chock full of research presented in a relatable way.
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I really enjoyed A More Beautiful Question as well – it is a nice framework for guided curiosity!
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I recently finished to read the whole series of books from Austin Kleon, my favourite is Share your work, 2nd favourite is Keep Going. I like steal like the artist, but it is not as deep as share your work. I also enjoyed very much “creative confidence” by Tom & David Kelley (although it is more about design thinking). I didn’t like Big Magic so much, too esoterical for me. I’m looking forward to read now your books (shame on me)…I listened to your podcast a lot though and decided to read the books now.
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I love Austin’s work. He’s one of my favorite people to chat with about the creative process. I return to his books often.
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Out of Office by Charlie Warzel. I read it as my company was debating returning to officeoffice full time or in a hybrid mode. The best part about this book is that it talks more about culture, how we create it and how we sustain it, regardless of location. It made me rethink how I lead and communicate with my team.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56212912-out-of-office?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_13
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Ooh – that sounds like a great one. I need to check it out. I’ve not read it.
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This is an old one, but Doug Hall’s Jump Start Your Brain is a good reminder that creative ideas can come from anywhere and was the first book that introduced me to the importance of stimuli to creativity.
There are also several books that have nothing to do with creativity directly, but what I’ve learned from them (habits, prioritizing, mindfulness) enables my creative process.
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I loved Jump Start Your Brain. Doug is a fellow Cincinnati guy, BTW. Eureka Ranch is about 5 miles from where I live… 🙂
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