A Reading List
I’m always getting asked for recommendations to deepen one’s understanding, or to grow one’s creative practice, or provoke one’s imagination a bit. Here's a list of the books I find myself returning to again and again. I've decided to not include research papers, as those frankly aren't nearly as readable...
THE CLASSICS
A classic overview of design thinking: The Art of Innovation - https://amzn.to/2UlfrW1
IDEO/d.school founder, David Kelley’s: Creative Confidence - https://amzn.to/3louUAG
On design’s role in business: The Design of Business - https://amzn.to/3lu2eXa
Designing organizations for creativity: Creativity, Inc. - https://amzn.to/36xRL6q
PRACTICAL GUIDES BY PRACTITIONERS
Captivating customer attention: Confessions of an Ad Man - https://amzn.to/36sU8Yd
Impactful short read on ideas: A Technique for Producing Ideas - https://amzn.to/38GSzbQ
On getting started with creative work: Steal Like An Artist - https://amzn.to/3eUzdkH
Brimming with tips from musicians: Creative Quest - https://amzn.to/36wFKOK
Brimming with tips from broadway: The Creative Habit - https://amzn.to/2UiaVrw
GREAT COMPREHENSIVE RESOURCES BY RESEARCHERS / AUTHORS
Conditions where ideas thrive: Where Good Ideas Come From - https://amzn.to/3lnyniX
Habits of creative professionals (longitudinal study): Creativity - https://amzn.to/3lnnAp5
Great study of breakthrough thinkers: Originals - https://amzn.to/3kjbkUZ
Practical habits of mind to break through: Lateral Thinking - https://amzn.to/2GT8vfV
On breaking perceptual boundaries: Deviate - https://amzn.to/3pp12q8
On the power of diverse perspectives: The Medici Effect - https://amzn.to/3eOgPtX
How to stimulate curiosity (thought provoking): Curious - https://amzn.to/3eNhifS
On the power of having diverse interests (spectacular): Range - https://amzn.to/3pf3cc1
On questioning the prevailing wisdom: The Undoing Project - https://amzn.to/2GVlwFL
On recovering from failure (very entertaining): Smartcuts - https://amzn.to/35kaWBA
BEYOND DESIGN THINKING – LEADERSHIP, ORG STRUCTURE, LAUNCHING
Designing orgs to foster breakthroughs: Loonshots - https://amzn.to/35pDs4B
Practical guide for building new ventures: The Acorn Method - https://amzn.to/3pifhNr
Balancing exploration v exploit in orgs: Lead and Disrupt - https://amzn.to/2IqQAxB
Leadership principles for driving innovation: Collective Genius - https://amzn.to/38HZAcN
SPECIFIC TO VARIOUS TOOLS / MINDSETS OF DESIGN THINKING
empathy tools: Thoughtless Acts? - https://amzn.to/3ncMA2L
define tools: Exposing the Magic of Design - https://amzn.to/3lsDJJK
improv/ideation tools: Improv Wisdom - https://amzn.to/38MCRwf
tips for prototyping and testing rapidly: (Google’s) Sprint - https://amzn.to/3eU8YuW
BIOGRAPHIES OF NOTEWORTHY INNOVATORS
Steve Jobs: The Authorized Biography - https://amzn.to/3oosmTH
A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age - https://amzn.to/38G5eM7
The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation - https://amzn.to/34R2Mjo
Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age - https://amzn.to/2N9DfvS
“Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”: Adventures of a Curious Character - https://amzn.to/3sWpW2a
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon - https://amzn.to/2UourWW
Born Standing Up (Steve Martin) - https://amzn.to/36iWAS0
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike - https://amzn.to/3tFVZE3
Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy - https://amzn.to/3adOuv9
Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed - https://amzn.to/2PFZ07L
The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Co - https://amzn.to/31zoXsv
Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft's Soul - https://amzn.to/3dl0blf
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One of the defining contributions the d.school is helping teams ask themselves, “What kind of thinking is appropriate, when?” We call such clarity being “Mindful of Process.” And it can seem like semantics until you realize we need to show up in different ways.