SETH GODIN, THE METHOD: CREATE, SHARE, PERFECT, EDITIONS DIATEINO, 2021

Seth Godin is a marketing guru. He excels in the art of saying a lot in a few words. His most recent book only confirms the strength of his writing. Built around his thoughts on creativity, 219 short chapters give us the path to take to understand the value of creativity and what a "creative" is.

Like David Usher, Seth Godin posits that creativity comes from the exercise of a practice. This practice is motivated by an intention to bring about change. This change is addressed to someone in particular and not to everyone, the author specifies. The challenge is to continue to improve oneself so that one can repeat the exercise successfully and with confidence. Creativity is a commitment to a process and not an outcome, according to him.

Seth Godin's writing is compelling. The author speaks directly to us. He lifts up each stone on the path to creativity. He offers an intelligent perspective and congruent examples. Broadly speaking, the method he advocates is to make room for creation, to open oneself to others and to criticism in order to perfect one's practice and the value that results from it. Thus, he encourages people to give free rein to creation and to make it a practice. Being open to sharing and criticism only increases the value that results from this practice. He explains how to do this in this book that can help build the confidence of any aspiring creator.

JEAN-FRANÇOIS MARTI, INNOVATE WITH DESIGN THINKING, EDITIONS DIATEINO, 2021

This book will be of interest to those working in large organizations and those who wish to learn more about this very popular topic. Originating from Silicon Valley, design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation, that is, it leads to the design of products and services that are desirable for the consumer, while being technically and economically viable.

For the author, creativity is becoming an obligation: "The performance of companies is linked to their ability to work in change, to manage the unpredictable and to constantly resolve increasingly complex problems, which now make their value." To do this, Jean-François Marti provides in detail the nine major steps of his specific method. Less obvious to convert in a small business context, some lessons are nevertheless good to remember for everyone. We live in an economy centered on the consumer and no longer on companies, he reminds us. The customer experience is the new offer that brings consumers emotional value and not strictly functional value.

Whether it is co-development, collective intelligence or design thinking, these are increasingly widespread approaches that have proven themselves and demonstrate the strength of collaborative work that brings us back to humanity.

DAVID USHER, LET THE ELEPHANTS RUN, QUEBEC AMERICA, 2015

David Usher is an internationally renowned Montreal musician. His book has been sitting on my bookshelf since its publication in 2015. A good book never loses its good taste! This is a very beautiful book, very pleasant to read.

This one is filled with personal anecdotes and relevant examples. It contains several exercises and tools to help us discover his “formula” for creativity, which he presents in several steps.

It combines the freedom to imagine with the need for a structured, results-oriented approach. “Creativity is 95 percent work and discipline and 5 percent inspiration,” he says. It’s practice that separates the active creator from the lucky amateur.

His approach is flexible and aims to keep creativity moving.

Here are three more classics on creativity worth reading:

• Creativity – Psychology of Discovery and Invention by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

• Out of our minds. The Power of Being Creative. by Ken Robinson (untranslated)

• Creativity, Inc.: Secrets of Inspiration from Pixar Founder by Edwin C atmull

Please note that the six works mentioned in this article are available at the Bibliothèque et archives nationales du Québec.