Imagination First: Unlocking the Power of Possibility

by Eric Liu, Scott Noppe-Brandon, Lincoln Center Institute

Overview

When imagination becomes habit, it can transform your work and your life

The best corporations know that innovative thinking is the only competitive advantage that cannot be outsourced. The best schools are those that create cultures of imagination. Now in paperback, Imagination First introduces a wide-variety of individuals who make a habit of imaginative thinking and creative action, offering a set of universal practices that anyone can use to transform their life at work, home, and play. These 28.5 practices will enable anyone to become more imaginative and to teach others to do so as well from corporate executive to educator to platoon sergeant. Bonus content includes

• Winning "practices" submitted by the public
• Guidelines for educators who want to cultivate creativity in their classrooms
• Expanded resource section

The book is filled with illustrative stories of creative leaders, teachers, artists, and scientists that clearly illustrate the original practices and new material that shows how to bring imagination to life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470600221
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	10/13/2009
Sold by:	JOHN WILEY & SONS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	404 KB

About the Author

ERIC LIU is at the New America Foundation and writes for Slate magazine. He is the author of Guiding Lights and The Accidental Asian, a New York Times notable book featured in the PBS documentary Matters of Race. Eric served as a speechwriter for President Clinton in the first term and as White House deputy domestic policy advisor in the second. After the White House, he was an executive at the digital media company RealNetworks. A frequent commentator on CNN, CNBC, and MSNBC, Eric is one of GQ magazine's "Pundits We Like" and was cited by A. Magazine a one of the national's 25 most influential Asian Americans. In 2002, he was named by the World Economic Forum one of the 100 "Global Leaders of Tomorrow." He lives with his family in Seattle, where he hosts a local NPR interview show called, "The Power of Voice" and teaches at the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Affairs. Eric speaks regularly at conferences and campuses around the country.

SCOTT NOPPE-BRANDON is executive director of Lincoln Center Institute (LCI), an arts and education organization where students learn about and through the arts by focusing on works of art, including performing and visual arts, and architecture. LCI's principles support learning across the curriculum. The Institute works in partnership with pre-K through grade twelve educators and degree-granting teacher education programs, and provides numerous professional development opportunities. Founded in 1975, the Institute is the educational cornerstone of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc, and a global leader in education and the arts. Since its inception, it has reached over 3 million students and some 50,000 educators.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Lincoln Center Institute xv

The Authors xix

Part One • The Premise 1

Introduction 2

What, Why, and How 18

Part Two • The Practices 41

Practice 1 • Make Mist 42

Ready, get still, go

Practice 2 • Leave the Campfire 46

Know your enemy: it is you, scared

Practice 3 • Flip What’s Foolish 52

Practice 4 • Make Way for Awe 58

Nurture humility and the wonder that comes with it

Practice 5 • Reinvent the Wheel 64

Be willing to give back the givens

Practice 6 • Think Inside the Box 68

Make greedy, grateful use of limits

Practice 7 • Hoard Bits 74

Collect obsessively; sift; trust that the right bits will emerge

Practice 8 • Mix Your Metaphors 80

Change the metaphors that frame your reality

Practice 9 • Renew Your Narrative 84

Ask whether your story still serves you

Practice 10 • Untie Your Tongue 90

Talk about your work with someone who doesn't understand it

Practice 11 • Swap Bodies 94

Lose yourself in a role

Practice 12 • Make a Gap 100

Obscure part of the picture

Practice 12.5 • Finish the Story 106

Make the ending open-ended

Practice 13 • Chunk It 108

Show how small it all starts

Practice 14 • Don't Blink 114

Snap in slow motion; see how you get primed for decision

Practice 15 • Cloud Appreciation 118

Search out ambiguity and sit with it

Practice 16 • Spotlight Off, Lantern On 124

Trade sharp focus for full-field awareness

Practice 17 • Play Telephone 128

Engage in meaning-laundering

Practice 18 • Help Out a Boobonian 132

Make every task a quest

Practice 19 • Teach Nonzero Math 138

Expand the pie before dividing it

Practice 20 • Microexperiment 142

Test your hunches playfully

Practice 21 • Rewrite History 146

Turn "what would've been" into "what could be"

Practice 22 • Design for the Hallway 152

Let informal spaces thrive

Practice 23 • Routinize Randomness 158

Regularly rinse out expectations

Practice 24 • Ride the z-axis 164

Find elemental forms, then play with scale

Practice 25 • Challenge Your Challenges 170

Find better problems

Practice 26 • Break the Hand 176

Unschool yourself periodically

Practice 27 • Yes and ... 180

Never say no to an idea

Practice 28 • Fail Well 186

Treat failure like a skill

Practice X • Make Up Your Own 192

Part Three • The Purposes 197

Conclusion 199

For Further Exploration 213

Index 237