The Book
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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 and innovation. Why does this matter so much?
What's 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 are not 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 best-selling 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.
Reviews
“Ken Robinson writes brilliantly about the different ways in which creativity is undervalued and ignored ... especially in our educational systems.”
“Out of Our Minds explains why being creative in today's world is a vital necessity. This book is not to be missed. Read and rejoice.”
“If ever there was a time when creativity was necessary for the survival and growth of any organization, it is now. This book, more than any other I know, provides important insights on how leaders can evoke and sustain those creative juices.”
“All corporate leaders should read this book.”
“This really is a remarkable book. It does for human resources what Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" did for the environment. It makes you wonder why we insist on sustaining an education that is narrow, partial, entirely inappropriate for the 21st century and deeply destructive of human potential when human beings have so much latent creative ability to offer. A brilliant analysis.”
“Books about creativity are not always creative. Ken Robinson's is a welcome exception: a set of wide ranging, provocative and useful reflections for anyone concerned with bringing new ideas to fruition in business, academia, or the arts.”
“The best analysis I've seen of the disjunction between the kinds of intelligence that we have traditionally honored in schools and the kinds of creativity that we need today in ourorganizations and our society. I learned a lot.”
“If you would like to start to unlock the inherent creativity that exists in every human being (including you), then start ... by reading this book.”
“Ken Robinson's is an origainal and creative mind. I can think of no better spokesperson on creativity. His views are as much directed to learning institutions as they are to industry. Out of Our Minds is a genuine challenge to complacency.”
“I definitely want to meet Ken Robinson. I have a great affinity with the ideas he proposes. His writing is witty, sometimes caustic, and he supports his arguments with evidence and research. Robinson points us towards a future where young people must be enabled to unleash their creativity and deal with change through a different and better education system. As someone who gains a living from management development, this is all too evident to me. Robinson makes powerful arguments for changes. I recommend that you read this book, take part in the debate and become part of the paradigm.”
“For a book called Out of Our Minds, Ken Robinson's illuminated assault on the current state of academic education is actually a very sane read. The current obsession is not only failing businesses but also our children. Robinson is right on the money.”
“Out of Our Minds has a powerful agenda - how to solve the appalling lack of skills in a world demanding ever more brainpower. This is a thoughtful book that does not dodge such cruel paradoxes of our time as the fact that standards of living get higher while the quality of life declines: a truly mind-opening analysis of why we don't get the best out of people in a time of punishing change.”
“This is a deeply significant work in this area - I am really impressed with the historical perspectives and breadth of insights drawn from the arts, sciences, psychology and many other fields. It is an immensely powerful statement of the current educational situation and highlights very powerfully the need for transformed thinking from top to bottom.”
“Out of Our Minds calls for radical changes in the way we think about intelligence, education and human resources, in order to met the extraordinary challenges of living and working in the 21st century. This book will make compulsive reading for anyone who shares an interest in the future of creativity, education and training.”
“Sometimes a writer has an uncanny knack of sharply focusing something, which up until then you had not seen in all its simplicity and brilliance. This book does that but at the next moment it makes connections never before imagined ... Even the most obstinately prosaic and safe thinkers will be tempted out of their box by Ken Robinson's ideas, theories and speculations. What's more, he writes as he speaks, in a way that, magnetically and compulsively, is simply irresistible.”
“There are certain books that manage to be authoritative, entertaining and thought-provoking and are also well written and richly exemplified. Few authors are able to fashion this attractive mixture. Alvin Toffler and Charles Handy can craft it. I add Ken Robinson's absorbing account of creativity to my personal list of gems. Creativity is one of those topics that excites some and enrages others. For Ken Robinson it is a universal talent that all people have, often without realizing it. Society in general and education in particular, can squash the imagination and rock self-confidence. I was sorry to reach the end of the text, as it had maintained its momentum throughout. The ready may finish, but the thinking goes on, just as you would expect from a book on this intriguing subject.”
