Micael Dahlen - Creativity Unlimited Thinking Inside the Box for Business Innovation

Creativity Unlimited Thinking Inside the Box for Business Innovation Micael Dahln

Creativity Unlimited

Creativity Unlimited Thinking Inside the Box for Business Innovation Micael Dahln

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Original edition (Sweden) published by Volante QNB Publishing

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Dahln, Micael.

[Boxen. English]

Creativity unlimited : thinking inside the box for business innovation / Micael Dahln. p. cm.

Translation of: Boxen : kreativitet som skapar bttre affrer : trna dig till framgng. Stockholm : Volante QNB Pub., c2006.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-470-77084-9 (cloth : alk. paper)

1. Creative ability in business. 2. Creative thinking. 3. Technological innovations. I. Title. HD53.D34 2008

658.4063dc22

2008027939

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-0-470-77084-9

Typeset in 11/16pt Trump Medieval by SNP Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall, UK

Nothing is impossible.

Some things are just more dif cult than others. Contents

Acknowledgements xi 1 Why this book? 1

PART I Its About Success 7 2 Why creativity? 9

3 Are you creative? 19

4 Why is creativity so important? 29

5 Isnt creativity dangerous? 49

PART II Think Inside the Box 57 6 What is creativity? 59

7 The creative result 67

8 The creative process 73

9 The creative person 93

10 Thinking inside the box 103

PART III Expanding the Box 123 11 The four walls of the box 125

12 The rst wall: conventions and rules 135 13 The second wall: common sense 159

14 The third wall: physiology 179

15 The fourth wall: consciousness 199

PART IV Filling the Box 219 16 Theres no such thing as useless knowledge 221 17 The brain is lazy 229

18 The power in brands 243

19 Associations 255

20 The context rules 263

PART V Shaking the Box 269 21 Preparations for the nal step 271

22 Shaking the box side to side 281

23 Shaking the box up and down 307

PART VI Congratulations: Youve Become Smarter 335 24 Are you a creative business innovator? 337

Further Reading 343

Index 357 Acknowledgements

Study after study has made it clear that creativity and personal success are strongly dependent on the environment in which one operates. Others must be the judge of whether this author has been creative or is successful, but my environment, at least, has always been the best possible. I only wish that everybody could enjoy the advantages of working with the people mentioned below.

Claes - Robert Julander is an amazingly wise man who continuously challenges and encourages me to be more incisive. For a researcher and writer with a tendency to indulge in details, it is a blessing to have a boss who can always see the big picture. Magnus S derlund is my other boss, an inspiration and example both in the matter of academic hygiene and other forms of asceticism. I have the further advantage of working on a number of exciting research and education projects and of laughing my way through the time in between in the company of a group of gifted and dear friends at the Centre for Consumer Mar-keting (CCM) at the Stockholm School of Business, who have also been fantastic and well - informed guinea pigs for several of the exercises

contained in this book (Anna Broback, Karolina Brodin, Rebecca Gruvhammar, Hanna Hjalmarson, Fredrik Lange, Jens Nordf lt, Sara Rosengren, Henrik Sj din, Fredrik T rn and Niclas hman). And of course there is Richard Wahlund, who is now a boss somewhere else, but still provides very valuable support.

Over the years (now I m feeling old ) I have had the pleasure and the honour of educating a large number of amazingly bright and successful students. You have made a greater impression on me, and meant more than you will probably ever know.

I am very grateful that so many of you stay in contact (don t stop), and that I have the chance to be involved, give support and take pleasure in your successful careers. Particular thanks are due to my magical students in Marketing Communications XL, who have been involved in testing many of the exercises and arguments in this book.

A very meaningful and stimulating part of my research work is meeting with businesses and inquisitive and skillful marketers and business creators on a virtually daily basis. These meetings give my work invalu-able feedback as well as insights and suggestions for what I should do

next. Many thanks for the important work you do every day and for your readiness both to learn and to teach!

Apropos learning and teaching it is really wonderful to have a pub-lisher who has evolved from being my student into my teacher and friend. Thank you, Tobias Niels n.