Discover fresh perspectives and research insights from LBS
Think at London Business School: fresh ideas and opinions from LBS faculty and other experts direct to your inbox
Sign upOn creativity
Want to be more creative? Start with these books chosen by LBS faculty
The idea that creativity is natural, innate and even mystically bestowed on “creative types” is a powerful idea in business. Somehow the idea you can train (which implies repetitive practice) creativity into yourself or develop it through your team seems counterintuitive. We search for inspiration as if it were a lost key or lightning strike.
But can you become more creative? We say yes – and this reading list is a good place to start. Here, London Business School faculty suggest seven books spanning the meaning of creativity, practical measures, creative states of mind, leadership for creativity and the consequences of this vital force.
Recommended by Pier Vittorio Mannucci, Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour
“What does it take to create a successful and sustainable creative culture? In this book, Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar Animation, brings you on the journey that brought him from being a creative person to becoming a creative leader.
When Catmull created Pixar, along with John Lasseter and Steve Jobs, he thought that his job was going to be creating animated movies. Over time, however, he came to realise that his focus needed to be helping creative people at Pixar do their best work. The book is a fascinating look inside Pixar, providing amazing lessons to foster your own original thinking and to understand how you can help your employees enhance their creativity.
From the importance of candour to the strategic use of post-mortems; from the importance of protecting ‘ugly babies’ to the importance of uncovering what is hidden and unseen, the book showcases a company whose leaders were able to create a culture that enables employees’ creativity to fly ‘to infinity, and beyond’.”
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Recommended by Michael Parke, Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour
“The War of Art is a practical self-help book about overcoming challenges in the creative process. It's a great book for writers because it gives useful tips to overcome procrastination and writers’ block and get your work done.
Pressfield successfully argues that creative work is not an unstructured search for a bolt of inspiration. The truth is, most creative people, who turn out creative work over and over again, actually follow structured principles and habits. The War of Art provides tools to create effective habits to overcome many of the blocks and resistance you face in creating writing, art, or other lines of creative work.”
