John Adair, one of the leading authorities on leadership, and the world's first professor of leadership studies, begins The Art of Creative Thinking: How to Be Innovative and Develop Great Ideas by fully acknowledging that while creative thinking can improve your business and personal life, the realistic concept of creative thinking -- what he calls the "creative activity of the unconscious mind" -- isn't anything new.

What makes his book so different? He writes, "Creative thinking cannot be reduced to a set of sequential steps. Imagine the chapters as being spokes on a wheel or pieces of amber strung on a necklace. You do not necessarily have to start at the beginning. Find a chapter that interests you and work outward."

Piece by Piece
Adair communicates his instruction by breaking things down into 21 easily digestible chapters, each touching on a point of creativity and creative thinking. His chapters range from "Reading to Generate Inspiration" to "Practice Serendipity." In "Use the Stepping Stones of Analogy," Adair discusses being inspired by something completely out of the league of what you might create. Soichiro Honda, for example, got the idea of the design of his first motorcycles from a statue of Buddha during a trip to Kyoto, Japan. The title of chapter six, "Chance Only Favors the Prepared Mind" stems from Louis Pasteur's famous quote of similar wording. Unexpected events or accidents can lead to great discoveries, if we pay attention to them and note how they affect outcomes. Examples from history include the discovery of penicillin by Sir Alexander Fleming.

Instinctive Response
Adair's 13th chapter is perhaps the backbone of the book. He instructs readers that in order to truly unlock potential creativity, they must first make better use of their "Depth Mind" -- a term he coined to describe the dimension of the mind that plays a role in problem solving, creative thinking, and decision making. This is the idea of using our subconscious mind fully and not ignoring intuitions or hunches.

"The Depth Mind has its own capacity for analyzing, synthesizing, and valuing," he writes. "And when it has done its work, it sometimes, not unlike a computer, prints out its findings or solutions into our consciousness." He also informs readers that certain professions require increased Depth Mind activity than others -- specifically artists, authors, composers, scientists, and inventors.

Finding a Place for Creativity in Life
Not everyone has a career that steers them down a creative path; nonetheless even an accountant, manager, or CEO can take the time and think creatively about their lives. With the key points of all 21 topics being thoroughly covered at the end of each chapter, the idea of creative thinking is made accessible to the reader. Adair reminds his audience: "A person who thinks creatively will never look upon life as finished. 'I have no objection to retirement,' Mark Twain once said, 'as long as it doesn't interrupt my work.'" We can all learn from creative thinkers to see life as essentially a series of beginnings.

Excerpted with permission. Copyright © 2007 by Soundview Executive Book Summaries. www.summary.com, 1 (800) SUMMARY, 1 (610) 558-9495.