Essential Resources for Creativity (163 techniques + 30 tips + books!)

Creativity and innovation thinking are topics that I have been searching recently. Below are those couple of sites’ resource links + some related recommended books that related to creativity and innovation. Techniques (163 of them!) by Mycoted should help you with creative thinking – those are the toolbox for you when you get stuck on developing your ideas.

Tips on Creativity by Gaping void is a list of how to be creative. This is the initial list for understanding what is creative and what are the ways you can gain creativity.

Finally I have gathered some references on books and audiobooks which are great for references on this topic.

Here are the lists:

Creativity Techniques:

1. Alternative Scenarios
2. Analogies
3. Analysis of Interactive Decision Areas (AIDA)
4. Anonymous voting
5. Assumption surfacing
6. Attribute listing (and variants)
7. Backward Forward Planning
8. Boundary examination
9. Boundary relaxation
10. Brainstorming
11. Brain sketching
12. Brain Writing
13. Brain writing 6-3-5
14. Brain writing game
15. Brain writing pool
16. Browsing
17. Brutethink
18. Bug listing
19. Bullet proofing
20. Bunches of bananas
21. Card story boards
22. CATWOE
23. Charrette
24. Cherry Split
25. Circle of Opportunity
26. Clarification
27. Classic Brainstorming
28. Collective notebook (CNB)
29. Comparison tables
30. Component detailing
31. Concept Fan
32. Consensus mapping
33. Constrained brain writing
34. Contradiction Analysis
35. Controlling imagery
36. Crawford slip writing
37. Creative problem solving (CPS)
38. Criteria for idea-finding potential
39. Critical path diagrams (CPD)
40. Decision seminar
41. Delphi
42. DO IT
43. Dialectical approaches
44. Dimensional analysis
45. Drawing
46. Estimate-discuss -estimate
47. Exaggeration (magnify or minify)
48. Excursions
49. Factors in ‘selling’ ideas
50. False Faces
51. Fishbone diagram
52. Five W’s and H
53. Flow charts for action planning
54. Focus groups
55. Focusing
56. Force-field analysis
57. Force-fit game
58. Free association
59. ‘Fresh eye’ and networking
60. Gallery method
61. Gap analysis
62. Goal orientation
63. Greetings cards
64. Help, hinder
65. Heuristic ideation technique (HIT)
66. Highlighting
67. Idea advocate
68. Imagery for answering questions
69. Imagery manipulation
70. Imaginary Brainstorming
71. Implementation checklists
72. Improved nominal group technique
73. Interpretive structural modeling
74. Keeping a dream diary
75. Kepner and Tregoe’s method
76. KJ-method
77. Laddering
78. Lateral Thinking
79. Listing
80. Listing pros and cons
81. Metaplan information market
82. Mind mapping
83. Morphological analysis
84. Morphological Forced Connections
85. Multiple redefinition
86. Negative brainstorming
87. Nominal group technique (NGT)
88. Nominal-interacting technique
89. Notebook
90. Observer and merged viewpoints
91. Osborn’s checklist
92. Other people’s definitions
93. Other people’s viewpoints
94. Paired comparison
95. Panel consensus
96. Paraphrasing key words
97. Personal balance-sheet
98. Phases of integrated problem solving (PIPS)
99. Pictures as idea triggers
100. Pin cards
101. PMI (Plus, Minus, Interaction)
102. Plan Do Check Act (PDCA)
103. Plusses, potentials and concerns
104. Potential-problem analysis (PPA)
105. Preliminary questions
106. Problem-centred leadership (PCL)
107. Problem Reversal
108. Progressive hurdles
109. Progressive revelation
110. Provocation
111. Q-sort
112. Quality circles
113. Random stimuli of various kinds
114. Rawlinson Brainstorming
115. Receptivity to ideas
116. Reframing values
117. Relational words
118. Relaxation
119. Reversals
120. Role storming
121. 7-Step Model
122. SCAMMPERR
123. SCAMPER
124. Sculptures
125. Search conference
126. Sequential-attributes matrix
127. Similarities and Differences
128. Simple rating methods
129. Simplex
130. Six Thinking Hats
131. Slice and Dice
132. Snowball technique
133. Stakeholder analysis
134. Sticking dots
135. Stimulus analysis
136. Story writing
137. Strategic assumption testing
138. Strategic choice approach
139. Strategic management process
140. Strategic Options Development and Analysis (SODA)
141. Successive element integration
142. Super Group®
143. Super heroes
144. SWOT Analysis
145. Synectics
146. Systematized Direct Induction (SDI)
147. Technology Monitoring
148. Think Tank
149. TILMAG
150. Transactional planning
151. Trigger Sessions
152. Trigger method
153. TRIZ
154. Using ‘crazy’ ideas
155. Using experts
156. Value brainstorming
157. Value engineering
158. Visual brainstorming
159. Visualising a goal
160. Who are you?
161. ‘Why?’ etc. – repeatable questions
162. Wishing
163. Working with dreams and images

Tips to be creative:

1. Ignore everybody.
2. The idea doesn’t have to be big. It just has to change the world.
3. Put the hours in.
4. If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being “discovered” by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.
5. You are responsible for your own experience.
6. Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.
7. Keep your day job.
8. Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.
9. Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.
10. The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props.
11. Don’t try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.
12. If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.
13. Never compare your inside with somebody else’s outside.
14. Dying young is overrated.
15. The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do, and what you are not.
16. The world is changing.
17. Merit can be bought. Passion can’t.
18. Avoid the Watercooler Gang.
19. Sing in your own voice.
20. 20. The choice of media is irrelevant.
21. Selling out is harder than it looks.
22. Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.
23. Worrying about “Commercial vs. Artistic” is a complete waste of time.
24. Don’t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.
25. You have to find your own schtick.
26. Write from the heart.
27. The best way to get approval is not to need it.
28. Power is never given. Power is taken.
29. Whatever choice you make, The Devil gets his due eventually.
30. The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.

Reference Links:
Creativity Techniques – [Mycoted]
How to be Creative (latest version) – [gapingvoid]
Audio Books:
The Breakout Principle: Maximize Creativity, Athletic Performance, Productivity and Personal Well-Being

Super-Creativity
Recommend Books:
A WHACK ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD : How You Can Be More Creative
Why Didn’t I Think of That? Think the Unthinkable and Achieve Creative Greatness
Planning Under Pressure: The Strategic Choice Approach (Urban and Regional Planning Series, Volume 37)
Broken Crayons: Break Your Crayons and Draw Outside the Lines
Strategies of Genius, Volume One, Volume Two
Techniques of Structured Problem Solving (General Business & Business Ed.)
Thinkertoys (A Handbook of Business Creativity)

Comments and further discussions are welcome at Lifehack.Community.