Serious Creativity

Edward de Bono is the old master of business creativity. Although a lot of his ideas are developed from other people’s work, such as Alex Osborn, he is a master of presenting creative thinking.

There are many (many) de Bono books on creativity, but this is by far the best one to get as it pulls all the rest together, summarising a range of creativity techniques and methods.

Don’t expect a barrel of laughs. This is a very dry, serious approach to creativity as the title suggests, railing against the more extreme, Californian-style, let it all hang out creativity. De Bono stresses that true creativity isn’t about bouncing off the walls and having fun. It’s a cerebral exercise. Not everyone agrees, but it is worth taking a look because de Bono is so influential in the field.

The great thing about this book is that it takes quite a few of his other books, condenses out the woffle and reduces them to a single chapter.

Note that it includes what is probably de Bono’s most original contribution, Six Thinking Hats, so don't buy both!