About the Book
Everyone has imagination. Imagination helps us see new possibilities for the future, navigate in times of uncertainty, and spark new ideas. But most of us do not know how to use imagination to its fullest potential or how to harness the power of imagination to overcome obstacles. The result: our most important ideas and biggest ambitions never turn in to reality.
This is The Imagination Gap.
In this timely new book, Brian Reich shows us that imagination is the greatest natural resource available to humans and one of the most powerful forces in shaping behavior to make real change. He explains how the most creative thinkers, forward-looking entrepreneurs, and influential change agents, in every sector of our society, harness the power of their imaginations to achieve their goals, and motivate others to take action. He outlines how the strongest leaders show others how to use their imaginations to expand their individual and collective potential.
In a rapidly changing world with so many choices and challenges to face, we must draw on our imagination more than ever before. Imagination makes the difference between projects that succeed and those that don’t, and is the key ingredient that transforms an idea from interesting into world-changing. The Imagination Gap helps leaders in every sector more effectively use and apply their imaginations to explore new, creative, and innovative approaches to survive and thrive.
The book features dozens of in-depth interviews and examples from a range of industries and settings including Broadway, comedy, marketing, nonprofits, politics, Silicon Valley, and more. It also includes specific, actionable guidance and steps to follow to stop thinking the way you “should” and start making extraordinary things happen.
Table of Contents:
1. What Is Imagination? 2. The Imagination Gap
3. The Knowledge and Leadership Crises
4. Closing the Gap
5. Imagination and Language (Framing, Expectations)
6. Imagination and Decision-Making (Information, Experiences, Stuff)
7. Imagination and Expectation (Beliefs and Behaviors)
8. Imagination and Structures (Rules and Standards)
9. All Hands on Deck
10. Smart(er) Data
11. A Different Kind of F-Word
12. Big Ideas and Big Questions
Index
About the Author :
Brian Reich is a strategist and writer for executive leaders at global brands, media companies, startups, nonprofits and political organizations. His research and views regarding the impact of media and technology on society have been published in the New York Times, Fast Company, Fortune, TechCrunch, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Vice, Wired, AdAge, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and others. He has delivered analysis of digital, media, political and other trends on NPR and Fox News. Brian is also the author of Shift & Reset: Strategies for Addressing Serious Issues in a Connected Society and Media Rules! Mastering Today’s Technology to Connect with and Keep Your Audience. Brian has held senior roles at leading PR, marketing, advertising, digital and public affairs agencies and was briefing director for Vice President Al Gore in the White House. He serves as an advisor to several nonprofit organizations and start-ups. He attended the University of Michigan and holds a bachelors degree in political science from Columbia University. He lives in New York City with his wife, Karen Dahl, and their two children.
Review :
“To get from point A to point B requires logic. To get anywhere worthwhile requires imagination. Imagination is the next big thing, and Brian Reich gives us the keys to unlock the power of our imagination. We need to explore new, ambitious ideas and this is the book to help us do it.”
"I wrote a book that explained how our ability to stay connected - constantly, instantly, and globally - was dramatically changing our world. Now, the world faces great challenges, and confronting them will require thinking very differently than we have to date. It is time to explore big new ideas, and develop new models and methods. That will require imagination. And this book provides the guidance we all need to use and apply our imagination more and better than ever before."
“We can’t solve problems by using the same thinking that created them. Imagination is a gift and not something to be suppressed. Brian helps us unlock the imagination needed to ideate and deliver real world solutions.”
“For almost three decades, I have worked to create and advance some of the foremost purpose-focused initiatives undertaken by major corporations and brands. I have learned a lot, and shared a lot, in that time, and I know there is much more we need to achieve. To truly change the world, we must use our imagination as never before. Brian has issued a challenge that everyone - from executives to everyday people - can and should embrace. This book serves as blueprint to make extraordinary things happen.”
“Brian Reich is a relentless advocate for change. His laser-sharp vision and ability to zoom into the essence and core of things is extraordinary. He has spent his life figuring out how to make the world a better place through his actions. Brian does not waste time; he always turns directly toward the most pressing issues. He is an optimist, never giving up on the opportunities around him and always sees potential to reshape the world. In The Imagination Gap, he explores a completely fresh angle on how to develop and pursue big, important ideas. Imagination is something we all have, but we have shut it down in fear of too much risk, in fear of looking different. Well, we shouldn’t. Brian helps us imagine what is possible if we didn’t.”
Reich, a strategist and writer for executive leaders at various organizations, argues that people aren't using their imagination enough and explains the role it plays in personal and professional life. He draws on interviews with scientists, entrepreneurs, organizational leaders, subject matter experts and practitioners, actors, filmmakers, comedians, inventors, and others, as well as media coverage, research, and his personal experiences, to describe how to close the imagination gap and create changes in behavior to expand the use of imagination. He explains the history and science behind imagination and how it works; the imagination gap and how to apply imagination; how lack of knowledge and the absence of leadership affects imagination; strategies for closing the gap; new ways of taking about issues and challenges to spark new uses of imagination; how using and applying imagination impacts decision making, beliefs and behaviors, individual and collective potential, and structures and rules; how a “war room” style approach encourages the use and application of imagination; the value of data using imagination as a driver for how to be smarter about the connected society; failure and imagination; and big ideas and questions related to imagination. This is a paperbound reprint of the 2017 clothbound edition.
