From Amazon
Flash of Brilliance describes how to foster creativity in corporate America and boost the bottom line in the process. Creativity consultant William C. Miller argues that the most successful companies encourage inspiration and innovation and allow people to make a difference. "Our work is an expression of our souls, our deepest being, the creative spirit working through us," writes Miller, who is also author of The Creative Edge. "We have to give what we do a context that is real and alive for each one of us, a context that serves mankind." Miller describes concrete steps to get companies started on the "creative journey" and shows how to use diagrams and focused questions as tools to inspire creativity. He also muses on many creative moments in history, including Friedrich Kekule's insight and intuition that led to the discovery of the molecular structure of benzene, and Arnold Fornachou's spontaneous solution to the challenge of the ice-cream cone, as examples of how inspiration can strike. Flash of Brilliance is both an entertaining and practical handbook for managers interested in leading for creativity rather than simply managing for productivity. --Dan Ring
From Library Journal
As organizations face more volatility in the changing global economy, books on creativity in the workplace tend to dominate business sections in most bookstores. Miller offers illustrative models on creative and innovative practices. Since his last book, Quantum Quality (Amacom, 1993), Miller has expanded his views and observations about creativity. Here, the focus is on the spiritual aspect: "only when we venture deep within our spiritual selves, even beyond our religious beliefs, do we access the core of our creativity." Miller's approaches to creative thinking include "visioning" the ideal solution, "modifying" what you have done, "experimenting" to form new solutions, and "exploring" where to look for new ideas. Although he can be verbose at times, the book may still appeal. Jordan Ayan's Aha!: 10 Ways To Free Your Creative Spirit and Find Your Great Ideas (LJ 4/1/97) covers the same ground. A marginal purchase for business collections.?Bellinda Wise, Nassau Community Coll. Lib., Garden City, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
In Flash of Brilliance, William Miller takes you on a creative journey—an adventure of discovery designed to unleash the creative spirit in yourself, your teams, and your organization. Blending research, case examples, and a highly original set of models and exercises, Miller brings your creative process alive so that it fosters personal fulfillment as it focuses creative inspiration.Flash of Brilliance offers specific techniques for recognizing your own Innovation Styles, overcoming obstacles to creativity, and stimulating people to make their most unique contributions to new products, quality processes, business strategies, and even organizational design. Miller convincingly demonstrates how your executives, team leaders, and key contributors can build a culture of ”strategic innovation management” where the best ideas rise to the top and you make proactive decisions even in unpredictable business environments.Innovation requires more than great minds, rapid learning, and new ideas. It requires your heart and soul, personal investment and courage. In this light, Miller takes you beyond the knowledge-based learning organization, beyond normal team building, and even beyond the ”creative edge” of long-standing innovative companies. Flash of Brilliance gives you practical ways to develop the profoundly more authentic and caring relationships that are essential for knowledge-creation, breakthrough creativity, and rapid implementation of great ideas.At its core, Flash of Brilliance is about achieving growth—both personal and professional—by providing everyone with the opportunity to integrate their deepest personal purposes, values, and spirit into a unified business effort. Miller even constructs the elusive bridge that links spirituality with creative business success. Ultimately, Flash of Brilliance is certain to inspire and energize you and your colleagues as you seek greater effectiveness in putting your personal values and creativity to work.
About the Author
William C. Miller is President of Global Creativity Corporation in Austin, Texas. Formerly a senior consultant at SRI International, he has taught at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, and is the author of The Creative Edge.
