Chuck Frey

Visual thinking has been growing in popularity during the past several years, thanks to the rise of design thinking, mind mapping, sketching and other graphical techniques for representing ideas. A new book called Graphic Design Thinking: Beyond Brainstorming catalogues these techniques in a handy how-to format.

In their new book, Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Toolkit for Managers, authors Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie outline four simple but powerful questions that drive the design thinking process.

As the global economy has transitioned from an industrial to a knowledge economy, the nature of problems that businesses face has changed as well. That's why the innovation initiatives of many organizations aren't as successful as they could be, according to David Weiss and Claude Legrand in their new book, Innovation Intelligence: The Art and Practice of Leading Sustainable Innovation in Your Organization.

I recently received a copy of a new book on open innovation, edited by Paul Sloane, that draws together some of the best advice on this growing area into a single volume.

Great questions are powerul creative tools, because they can help you to focus your thinking and lead it in fresh, new directions. But how can you develop an arsenal of creative questions that will help you to develop great ideas?