What I'm Reading

Imagine: How Creativity Works
By Jonah Lehrer

“Creativity isn’t a fixed attribute, like height or IQ. It’s a skill that can be sharpened and directed over time. I challenge anyone who thinks they can’t be creative to read Wired columnist Jonah Lehrer’s book, where he explores the science behind creativity, demystifies it as a process that anyone in any role can develop and hone, and excites us with the promise of how creativity can be leveraged at all levels of society to drive change and innovation.”

The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation
By Jon Gertner

“Apple didn’t create FaceTime, and Google wasn’t the first company to drive innovation by allowing workers to spend up to 20% of their time on independent projects they were interested in developing. Bell Labs, the independent R&D arm of AT&T, was for over six decades of the last century the preeminent innovation factory of its time, inventing the transistor, cellular technologies and, yes, even revealing its ‘Picturephone’ in 1964 that now we take for granted on our iPhones. Its magic was the environment and network of thinkers created specifically to foster innovation, and its innovations outlined in this book are a remarkable sourcebook of inspiration for individuals and organizations today.”