Creativity Lessons from Charles Dickens and Steve Jobs - Anne Kreamer - Harvard Business Review

Creativity is the most essential skill for navigating an increasingly complex world — or so said 1,500 CEOs across 60 countries in a recent survey by IBM. And yet federally funded research and development — creativity, institutionalized — is down 20% as a share of America's GDP since the late 1980s. Private R&D spending has also tailed off since then, when it brought us breakthrough innovations like laser printing, Ethernet, the graphical user interface, and the mouse. And that was just from one company's private R&D engine, Xerox's PARC. At the same time, experts fret that our public school system doesn't foster enough creativity in our future workforce. All of which makes it easy to worry that we'll run out of creative leaders producing creative goods. But I think the declinism is overwrought. And that's because some of the best paths to encourage innovation are surprisingly simple.

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Susan Cain: The power of introverts | Video on TED.com

In a culture where being social and outgoing are prized above all else, it can be difficult, even shameful, to be an introvert. But, as Susan Cain argues in this passionate talk, introverts bring extraordinary talents and abilities to the world, and should be encouraged and celebrated. Our world prizes extroverts -- but Susan Cain makes a case for the quiet and contemplative.

This is Your Brain on Jazz: Researchers Use MRI to Study Spontaneity, Creativity

A pair of Johns Hopkins and government scientists have discovered that when jazz musicians improvise, their brains turn off areas linked to self-censoring and inhibition, and turn on those that let self-expression flow.

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Is There A Hidden Bias Against Creativity? - Association for Psychological Science

CEOs, teachers, and leaders claim they want creative ideas to solve problems. But creative ideas are rejected all the time. A new study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, finds that people have a hidden bias against creativity. We claim to like creativity, but when we’re feeling uncertain and anxious—just the way you might feel when you’re trying to come up with a creative solution to a problem—we cannot recognize the creative ideas we so desire.

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The Contagion of Leadership - Justin Menkes - Harvard Business Review

A few years ago, I was on a small regional jet when we smelled smoke. The pilot barked orders into the speaker to put out any lighted cigarette immediately. As it turned out, no one was smoking — the alarm was the result of a faulty smoke detector. But the pilot's tone transmitted fear, and that fear spread through the cabin. On another flight, the pilot announced that there was a problem with the plane's hydraulics and that they had to consult with Boeing to decide the best way to get us on the ground. The second situation was far more serious and involved two failed landing attempts before we finally touched down safely. But I will never forget how calm everyone was because the confidence in our pilot's voice was contagious.

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