Inside the Box: The creative method that works for everyone

Current business wisdom holds that to forge a powerfully original solution to problems, we must think outside the box, 'brainstorming' random connections. But, as Jacob Goldenberg and Drew Boyd reveal, based on expertise and experience in both corporate and academic worlds, this is utterly wrong. It may seem counterintuitive - but faster, better and more original innovation and creativity comes from working inside your familiar world. The newest and most inventive ideas are much closer than you think, and can be found by using five simple techniques - subtraction, unification, multiplication, division and dependency. This strategy helped Philips use subtraction to create the slim-line DVD players we use today, while dependency leads to iPhone apps such as FourSquare which provides services that change according to the user's location. This strategy can be useful to anyone, from CEOs of multinational companies to the Chilean miners' rescue team, and even leading jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, who actually restricts the range of his instrument to induce increased creativity.

About the Author :
Jacob Goldenberg is Professor of Marketing at the School of Business Administration and head of the Marketing department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His work has been covered by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, BBC News, Wired and Economist. Drew Boyd is Executive Director of the Master of Science in Marketing Program and Assistant Professor of Marketing and Innovation at the University of Cincinnati.

Review :
Remarkably original ... If you're interested in gaining a competitive edge, open this package first Inside the Box uses very practical methods to take the mystery out of innovation and provides a roadmap for getting real results Among the few ideas that have fundamentally changed how I look at life is the idea that creativity can be simple and systematic. In this book Boyd and Goldenberg explain the basic building blocks for creativity and by doing so help all of us better express our potential Why wait for a brilliant idea to hit like a bolt from the blue? You can increase the odds of a creative lightning strike just by learning and applying a few simple tools - ones that have proven their effectiveness time and again. The "inside-the-box approach" described by Drew Boyd and Jacob Goldenberg can reveal key opportunities for innovation that are hiding in plain sight. It's hard to imagine a real-world problem that wouldn't be amenable to their approach.