Monday, April 23, 2012

Out Of Our Minds: Learning To Be Creative By Ken Robinson

Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative

Out Of Our Minds: Learning To Be Creative By Ken Robinson

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"It is often said that education and training are the keys to the future. They are, but a key can be turned in two directions. Turn it one way andyou lock resources away, even from those they belong to. Turn it the otherway and you release resources and give people back to themselves. To realizeour true creative potential—in our organizations, in our schools and in our communities—we need to think differently about ourselves and to actdifferently towards each other. We must learn to be creative."
Ken Robinson

PRAISE FOR OUT OF OUR MINDS

"Ken Robinson writes brilliantly about the different ways in which creativity is undervalued and ignored . . . especially in our educational systems."
John Cleese

"Out of Our Minds explains why being creative in today'sworld is a vital necessity. This book is not to be missed."
Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One-minute Manager and The Secret

"If ever there was a time when creativity was necessary for the survival andgrowth of any organization, it is now. This book, more than any other I know, providesimportant insights on how leaders can evoke and sustain those creative juices."
Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business, University of Southern California; Thomas S. Murphy Distinguished Rresearch Fellow, Harvard Business School; Best-selling Author, Geeks and Geezers

"All corporate leaders should read this book."
Richard Scase, Author and Business Forecaster

"This really is a remarkable book. It does for human resources what Rachel Carson's Silent Spring did for the environment."
Wally Olins, Founder, Wolff-olins

"Books about creativity are not always creative. Ken Robinson's is a welcome exception"
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, c.s. and d.j. Davidson Professor of Psychology, Claremont Graduate University; Director, Quality of Life Research Center; Best-selling Author, Flow

"The best analysis I've seen of the disjunction between the kinds of intelligence that we have traditionally honored in schools and the kinds ofcreativity that we need today in our organizations and our society."
Howard Gardner, a. hobbs professor in cognition and education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Best-selling Author, Frames of Mind

Q&A with Sir Ken Robinson
What has changed since the first edition of Out of Our Minds was published in 2001 that has prompted you to write this new edition?
One of the core themes of the book is the rate and nature of change in the modern world. The last ten years have offered dramatic demonstrations of this theme. Just think of the breathtaking innovations in technology and digital culture. Ten years ago, Google was still a novelty; there were no smart phones, no IPods or IPads; no Twitter or Facebook or any of the social media that are transforming life and work today. Then think of the increasing pace of population growth, the growing strains on the environment and the effects of all of these on people's lives and future prospects and the fact is that the world is becoming more complex and unpredictable than ever. Ten years on, I wanted to refresh and update the information in the book and to show that these revolutionary changes make the arguments of Out of Our Minds even more urgent in 2011 than they were in 2001. I've also spent the last ten years travelling the world presenting and debating the ideas in the book. In this new edition, I also wanted to present the arguments in a fresh way and to include new examples of the strategies that are needed to make them a practical reality.

Why do you think this book is important for business and industry leaders as well as educationalists?
In the last ten years, I've worked with business of all sorts all around the world. For all of them, cultivating creativity is a bottom line issue. Last fall, IBM published a report on the challenges facing business in 2011 and beyond. The report was based on survey of 3000 CEOs. It showed that the top priority for CEOs everywhere is to promote creativity systematically throughout their organizations. The reasons are clear enough. In a world of rapid change, companies and organizations have to be adaptable as circumstances change and be able to develop new products and services as new opportunities emerge. Most people occasionally have a new idea. For companies that isn't enough. To remain competitive, they need to develop cultures where creativity is a habit and innovation is routine. The new edition of Out of Our Minds sets out the core principles for doing this and for leading a dynamic and reliable culture of innovation.

As one reviewer has suggested, creativity is a topic that excites some and enrages others. Why do you think this is?
I think it's because there are many misconceptions about creativity. Some people believe that creativity can't really be defined: others that it's a process that can't be taught. Some think it's about special people, or special activities. One of my aims in the book is to tackle these misconceptions and to show that everyone has creative potential and that creativity can be developed in every sort of activity and in a practical way. My argument throughout Out of Our Minds is not only that creativity can be developed systematically but that it must be in education and in business if we're to fulfil our real talents and meet the many challenges that we face.

Since the publication of The Robinson Report for the UK Government in 1999, you have been invited to contribute to strategy for creative development by other international organisations and governments. How has this work influenced your arguments in the book?
The report for the UK government set out a national strategy to promote creativity systematically in schools. Following its publication I was asked to work on a similar strategy for Northern Ireland, as part of the Peace Process, and to contribute to Singapore's strategy to become the creative hub of South East Asia. I now live in the US and have worked with States here on creative strategies for business and education. All of these experiences have confirmed the basic arguments of Out of Our Minds and the principles and processes I describe in the book. They apply equally to schools, universities, companies and governments. Of course, there are always limits on what you can say in a government report. In this book, I've been able to offer a much more personal and unfettered look at these issues and to speak from the heart as well as the mind.

This book is a mind-opening look at why some people don't achieve their full potential in life. Do you feel you have achieved your full potential in your career?
I've spent my life pursuing ideas and principles that I feel passionate about and that I know are deeply important in the lives of others. I'm delighted that I've had some impact around the world on education in particular and on how people and organizations think about themselves and their talents and potential. I still have a lot of life left in me though, so I'll defer judgement for a while on whether and when I've achieved all I might do …

What changes do you hope Out of Our Minds will bring about in the long term?
I say in the Foreword to the new edition that "my aims in this book are to help individuals to understand the depth of their creative abilities and why they might have doubted them; to encourage organizations to believe in their powers of innovation and to create the conditions where they will flourish; and to promote a creative revolution in education." I couldn't have put it better myself!

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #1575 in Books
  • Published on: 2011-03-08
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: 1.13" h x 5.64" w x 8.53" l, 1.10 pounds
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 352 pages
Editorial Reviews

Review
'…inspiring, witty and engaging book.' (Tes.co.uk, April 2011). '…straightforward, amusing and useful.' (Management Today, May 2011). '…a book with the potential to be a catalyst for system-wide change.' (Times Educational Supplement, May 2011). 'Now more global in perspective…the book seems more important than ever…His rallying cry still deserves to be heard.' (Business Life, May 2011).

From the Inside Flap
There is a paradox. As children, most of us think we are highly creative; as adults many of us think we are not. What changes as children grow up? Organizations across the globe are competing in a world that is changing faster than ever. They say they need people who can think creatively, who are flexible and quick to adapt. Too often they say they can't find them. Why not? In this provocative and inspiring book, Ken Robinson addresses three vital questions:

  • Why is it essential to promote creativity? Business leaders, politicians and educators emphasize the vital importance of promoting creativity andinnovation. Why does this matter so much?
  • What is the problem? Why do so many people think they're not creative? Young children are buzzing with ideas. What happens as we grow up and go through school to make us think we arenot creative?
  • What can be done about it? What is creativity? What can companies, schools and organizations do to develop creativity and innovation in a deliberate and systematic way?

In this extensively revised and updated version of his bestselling classic, Out of Our Minds, Ken Robinson offers a groundbreaking approach to understanding creativity in education and in business. He argues that people and organizations everywhere are dealing with problems that originate in schools and universities and that many people leave education with no idea at all of their real creative abilities. Out of Our Minds is a passionate and powerful call for radically different approaches to leadership, teaching and professional development to help us all to meet the extraordinary challenges of living and working in the 21st century.

From the Back Cover
"It is often said that education and training are the keys to the future. They are, but a key can be turned in two directions. Turn it one way andyou lock resources away, even from those they belong to. Turn it the otherway and you release resources and give people back to themselves. To realizeour true creative potential—in our organizations, in our schools and in our communities—we need to think differently about ourselves and to actdifferently towards each other. We must learn to be creative."
Ken Robinson

PRAISE FOR OUT OF OUR MINDS

"Ken Robinson writes brilliantly about the different ways in which creativity is undervalued and ignored . . . especially in our educational systems."
John Cleese

"Out of Our Minds explains why being creative in today'sworld is a vital necessity. This book is not to be missed."
Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One-minute Manager and The Secret

"If ever there was a time when creativity was necessary for the survival andgrowth of any organization, it is now. This book, more than any other I know, providesimportant insights on how leaders can evoke and sustain those creative juices."
Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business, University of Southern California; Thomas S. Murphy Distinguished Rresearch Fellow, Harvard Business School; Best-selling Author, Geeks and Geezers

"All corporate leaders should read this book."
Richard Scase, Author and Business Forecaster

"This really is a remarkable book. It does for human resources what Rachel Carson's Silent Spring did for the environment."
Wally Olins, Founder, Wolff-olins

"Books about creativity are not always creative. Ken Robinson's is a welcome exception"
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, c.s. and d.j. Davidson Professor of Psychology, Claremont Graduate University; Director, Quality of Life Research Center; Best-selling Author, Flow

"The best analysis I've seen of the disjunction between the kinds of intelligence that we have traditionally honored in schools and the kinds ofcreativity that we need today in our organizations and our society."
Howard Gardner, a. hobbs professor in cognition and education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Best-selling Author, Frames of Mind

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

56 of 59 people found the following review helpful.
5EXTRAORDINARY - A Mind Blowing Book - You Simply Must Read It - 5 STARS !!!!
By A Customer
There is simply no better way to absorb worthwhile information than from a great book. I knew I was onto something with this book when I saw some of the people who took the time to write a couple of sentences of praise on behalf of author Ken Robinson's work. They included Howard Gardner and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (don't try to pronounce it; I have been trying for years).

Now Howard Gardner is the man who runs Project Zero at Harvard. He is also a two time recipient of the MacArthur Genius award. His impact on our country and the world has been massive. I suggest you read anything that writes, anything. This is the man who developed the theory of multiple intelligences. Then you have Csikszentmihalyi who came up with the concept of FLOW. The state in which you are so passionately involved in a project, time is just flying by, you are in a peak experience as Abraham Maslow use to say. For these two giants (read all their books by the way) to write words of praise told me this book is going to be something special. I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED.

About one in every 100 books I read is truly special, impactful, worthy of remembrance, and re-reading. "Out of Our Minds" is one of those rare books. You read it, and you feel the author's energy surging from the book and into your mind. You will be transformed, and you must re-visit this narrative from time to time. You will be sorry when it's over, because you will want more. Everyone should read this book, and each of us will benefit from every page.

What it's about

In ten chapters and 286 pages, Robinson takes us through the world of CREATIVITY, a skillset that the author believes we are all born with, but then it gets shunted aside in our young lives while the school systems attempt to commoditize us (successfully too) into their preconfigured concepts of who and what we should become. It is Robinson's contention that we all have incredible potential for living creative lives both on a personal level and in our chosen course of work. What's more, he believes that it is this quality; the quality of acting in creative ways that will save us as a society and allow us to prosper as opposed to the regimentation that society puts us through.

He wants us to understand just how much creative ability we have in our souls, and he wants us to access it. He wants corporations to slow down in their path of creating corporate armies, and instead to become creative organizations where a whole new set of conditions will exist. These conditions will foster people in their attempt to flourish, and as he say to promote a creative revolution in this country. His discussion of the Pixar Corporation and their in house university which allows all employees to study any subject they desire that is taught within the corporation is worth the price of the book by itself. Pixar also allow their employees to take 4 hours of their workweek and convert to to Pixar University time.

In the first parts of the book, Robinson takes us on a tour de force of world history and creativity. This for me is where the book positively excels. For those of us who are big time readers, it simply does not get any better than this part of the book. He's giving us John Kenneth Galbraith, Picasso, Einstein, Edison, Shakespeare, Johannes Gutenberg, Sir Frances Bacon, Jean Piaget, H.G. Wells, and probably a 100 more. He then takes us on a history of the world including pre-industrial societies, the Industrial Revolution, and the Information Society we are currently in. There is not a single page of this book that I found boring, and that is really saying something.

The Man's Mind is Unique

How often do you come across a book which you find absolutely fascinating. This is a book that you can't wait to get back into when you put it down, if you can put it down at all. When you get into Our of Our Minds, you will find yourself reading something that will jolt you into a new perspective, where you can say, give me more? I want to leave you with a few ideas and thoughts that are spread through this narrative, what I think are nuggets, diamonds really, that perhaps will motivate you to see what I saw in this remarkable book:

* The education system in this country was completely modeled on the needs of the Industrial Revolution which is based on linearity, conformity and standardization. People therefore need to RECOVER from their educations in order to become more creative.

* The financially led 2008 recession was caused by credit and asset bubbles that caused over-consumption and then blew into a recession. We are still paying a price that will take years to work out of.

* Humans believe that we can live separate and apart from nature - we cannot.

* In 1950, the average American traveled 5 miles per day. Ten years ago, it was 30 miles per day. In ten years (2020), it will be 60 miles per day.

* A digital wrist watch today has more computing power than the spaceship Neil Armstrong used to land on the moon.

* There is a thorough discussion of Nano-technology and robotics and how it will change the world in the coming decades.

* In this country we consider a decade to be a long time. In England a century is a long time, and in China you have to think in terms of a thousand years before it is considered a long time. This is actually ingrained in our thinking.

Summary

If you want a laugh try this one. Robinson tells us that the primary purpose of economic forecasting is to make astrology look repsectable. He is quoting John Kenneth Galbreith. I believe this book will impact your life, and change the way you think and reflect on yourself. You will make decisions about the way you want to spend the rest of your life. You will reflect as to whether or not what you have been doing with your time is truly worthwhile, and you will come away the better for it. This is that rare book that you do not gently put down when it is over. You will have to come back to it; you simply cannot ignore its contents. Thank you for reading this review.

Richard C. Stoyeck

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful.
5Breezy, beautiful, thought provoking read
By Todd B. Kashdan
I'm unsure why its taken me this long to digest anything by Ken Robinson. After reading a free copy of this revamped book, I am officially a fan. Let me give a few reasons why this needs to get into the hands of teachers, businessman, policy makers, parents, and basically everyone else:

1. Nearly everyone wants the people around them to be more creative but the dominant paradigm in education, politics, and business is conformity. Everybody wants the creativity and innovation but without the risk of failing. This book, like many others, explains why creativity requires the freedom to inquire, explore, and fail in the pursuit of breaking new territory.

2. Society is changing at far too fast a rate to rely on past information as a means of educating people

3. Traditional systems of learning and governing are antiquated, and far too wed to a narrow conception of intelligence

Ken's ideas are couched in science but he does a fantastic job of putting it into the background so that it doesn't derail the narrative. He is brilliant at weaving brief sentences and chapters together, building tension until the final 2 chapters that focus on increasing the amount of creativity in the world. The only criticism I have is that the reference section was incomplete and does not allow the reader to retrace his steps. Tons of references to newspaper articles and website addresses instead of more useful books and articles. This is a minor criticism and in fact, consider it a compliment. After finishing this in two nights, I wanted to follow the breadcrumbs to the most groundbreaking strategies for cultivating creativity.

cheers,
Todd
author of Curious?

28 of 34 people found the following review helpful.
3Poorly Titled, but well written Tome on Education, not Creativity
By A. FLYNN
I cannot give this book a bad review, but I can warn potential readers to be careful that the title of the book does not equate with the material presented in this book. The title is simply not clear. It is called "Out of our Minds, Learning to be Creative." I am definitely interested in learning how to be "Out of my Mind and Learning to be Creative" but that is not what this book was about for me.

Like another reviewer of this book, I wanted to throw this book across the room several times. But I stuck in there and read it through. Sometimes the material was interesting, but overall not very memorable for me.

This is a book about the educational system and what changes need to be made collectively to include creativity in the curriculum. This is also a Tome about the History of Education, and the ongoing changes in Academia. This book may also help an individual who wants to start their creative process, but it is not about learning to be creative. This book reads like a PhD dissertation turned into a book, but it does not speak to those of us who have already embraced a life of creativity and want to learn how to be more creative.

I would recommend this book to those individuals who are ready to get out of Academia and pursue a path of creativity, but if you are already an artist or very connected to your creativity this book will be very frustrating. I would recommend the Artists Way by Julia Cameron if you want a great book on how to unblock and enjoy your creative process.

What I did get out of this book were plenty of factoids about education and academia. Mr. Robinson is a bit of a high tower intellectual and so the material reads a bit dry and informative. Information can be helpful but learning how to be creative is not an informational process.

Finally, I have to disagree with Mr. Robinson vehemently when he says in chapter 6 that creativity is about "doing something." It is actually much deeper then that. As an Artist I have found that idea to be too simplistic of a view on creativity. Creativity is a much more layered process then simply doing. Most of the time "doing" gets in the way. "Being" is a more clear channel for higher creativity.

http://astore.amazon.com/amazon-book-books-20/detail/1907312471

 
 

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