The Creative Edge

Markets are changing, Values and behavior are changing. The way we do business is changing. Today's most successful people and organizations are responding creatively to these changes. The Creative Edge will help you meet the challenge. Both a practical handbook of techniques and an inspirational work, this book can help you develop your creative skills and promote creativity within your organization.

Discover the x-factor—the driving force behind extraordinary success. What accounts for the difference between the mega-success of Madonna and a thousand other wannabees waiting in the wings? Why did JK Rowling succeed where so many others aspiring writers have failed? And what was it about the slightly neurotic and mediocre schoolboy Sigmund Freud that ensured his position as one of the most brilliant and original thinkers in history? In this engrossing new book, Taylor builds on his theory that feeling like an ‘outsider’ from an early age, whether consciously or subconsciously not fitting into the norm, creates an edge that can drive outstanding success in later life. To this core philosophy Taylor adds a new ingredient: that of creativity, and he explores the interplay of these two factors—a lack of belonging and creativity—in the lives of a sparkling cast of individuals. Go beyond the glitz and glamour to discover how creative energy, harnessed to produce lives and works of extraordinary genius, can often exist against a backdrop of personal struggle and despair. From childhood outsider to adult icon, understand the journey of the following celebrities: Brad Pitt • Elvis Presley • Frieda Kahlo • Walt Disney • Sigmund Freud • Albert Einstein • Andy Warhol • Coco Chanel • David Beckham • Dan Brown • John Lennon • Sir Edmund Hillary • JK Rowling • Angelina Jolie • Tiger Woods • Amelia Earhart • Madonna

Library facilitators of art-based creativity sessions will learn how to choose materials and art experiences appropriate for young people from toddlers to teens and for intergenerational groups. In the modern world, innovative and creative individuals have a distinct advantage: the creative edge. The Creative Edge explains how you can design and conduct art-based creativity programming in your library. Written by a library creativity specialist, this book is the result of the author's many years of experience facilitating art groups for all ages. Her programs have achieved national recognition and will serve as a guide for others to establish art-based creativity sessions. In this book, she incorporates research that documents the importance of creativity as an essential component of childhood development and connects it to library learning goals, including literacy. Creativity research can be applied in libraries and at other public institutions to develop programs that will meet the needs of the next generation. The book includes many practical elements, such as lists for recommended art materials, step-by-step instructions on setup and procedures, and ideas inspired by picture book illustrations that connect to story time themes. The Creative Edge teaches readers how to provide programs that promote child-led exploration, experiential learning, innovative thought, and creative confidence.

Foreign interpretations of Japan hinge, in large measure, on the notion of a simple homogeneous culture in which individuality is subsumed in collective enterprise. Such interpretations posit a society organized with incredible efficiency for economic superperformance, a society to be, at once, feared and emulated. In this volume, Kumiko Miyanaga argues that the simplistic view of monolithic collectivity is misleading, and that Japan is undergoing a period of social transformation in which traditional attitudes toward collectivism and individualism are shifting in favor of the latter. Miyanaga finds that individualism is flourishing most significantly in the area of entrepreneurship, thus invigorating an already vital Japan. The author begins with a carefully nuanced analysis of the traditional and contemporary relationship between individual and collective attitudes. Historically, individualism has been a quiet, peripheral subculture, a refuge for society's dropouts, expressing itself chiefly in religion and art, and influencing little in the way of social change. With the acceleration of economic and technological growth since the 1960s, some individualists on the periphery of the Japanese economy have gained a position strong enough to enable them to interact with the mainstream without losing their independence. In such areas as the fashion industry, in high technology, and in venture-capital firms, individualists who would never "make it" with Hitachi or Toyota suddenly find themselves with very lucrative economic opportunities. Miyanaga contends that there is now a mutual influence between the peripheral and mainstream sectors. As enterprises on the outskirts of the economy grow larger and more successful, they feel the pull of the old ideology, and, conversely, mainstream organizations have discovered that they need the "creative edge" that comes from the periphery. Just as the small Japanese entrepreneur dreams, at least occasionally, of being a Toyota, large corporations have come to realize the importance of individualism. This book offers an original and distinctive contribution to a very important debate over the future of the Japanese economy. It is a work of great fascination for social scientists, economists, and those seeking a social perspective on Japanese culture.

As globalization creates the need for leaders who transcend national borders, this book provides an insider's view of what makes them special. This is the first book to present a framework for understanding this fast-growing and influential group and it provides tools for readers to discover their own inner competitive edge.

Leading on the Creative Edge provides you with the vital information you need to take your leadership to a new level. It shows you how to nuture your own creativity while igniting the creativity in others.

Library facilitators of art-based creativity sessions will learn how to choose materials and art experiences appropriate for young people from toddlers to teens and for intergenerational groups. In the modern world, innovative and creative individuals have a distinct advantage: the creative edge. The Creative Edge explains how you can design and conduct art-based creativity programming in your library. Written by a library creativity specialist, this book is the result of the author's many years of experience facilitating art groups for all ages. Her programs have achieved national recognition and will serve as a guide for others to establish art-based creativity sessions. In this book, she incorporates research that documents the importance of creativity as an essential component of childhood development and connects it to library learning goals, including literacy. Creativity research can be applied in libraries and at other public institutions to develop programs that will meet the needs of the next generation. The book includes many practical elements, such as lists for recommended art materials, step-by-step instructions on setup and procedures, and ideas inspired by picture book illustrations that connect to story time themes. The Creative Edge teaches readers how to provide programs that promote child-led exploration, experiential learning, innovative thought, and creative confidence.