A lot of people use the words “innovation” and “creativity” interchangeably, but my favorite definition helps differentiate the two: “Innovation is the value-added application of a creative idea.”

Of course, knowing a snappy definition is one thing — putting it into practice is something else altogether. If you’re struggling to truly innovate, or if you just want to refresh your creative mojo, start with this list of books that will make you more innovative in the new year.

I know there are a LOT of books out there on these topics, but this list is made up of some of my own trusted favorites. It’s an eclectic mix of exciting new releases from the past year combined with a few of what I consider the all-time greats. Each of the books on this year’s list will help you generate more creative ideas, communicate and present your ideas more effectively, and/or foster a culture of innovation.

Plus, they’re all highly entertaining and enjoyable to read. Written by some of the top thought-leaders out there today, some of whom you may already know and others you most definitely should. As my company’s mission and motto is “Educate, Engage, and Excite,” ^TM I assure you that every book on this list fulfills this slogan with flying colors. They will inform you, capture and hold your interest, and inspire you to new heights.

*If you missed it, here's my 2013 list: Thirteen Books That Can Change Your Life (If You Actually Read Them). 

14 Books, 365 Days of Innovation

My 14 recommended books for 2014, in alphabetical order, are (drum roll please…):

100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People and 100 Things Every Presenter Needs to Know About People
Susan M. Weinschenk Ph.D.
These two beautiful, colorful, companion books take a fascinating, psychology-based (and yet extremely practical) approach to both technology design and presentation design based on how people see, listen, think, feel, learn, and act. Here’s a fun video sample from the author (otherwise known as the “Brain Lady”), as well as a link to her blog.

Back of the Napkin, The: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures and Unfolding the Napkin: The Hands-on Method for Solving Complex Problems With Simple Pictures 
Dan Roam
Cave drawings (and, therefore, visual communication) existed long before the written word was invented. These books (especially the fun and interactive “Unfolding the Napkin” workshop-in-a-book) will teach you how to think, problem-solve, and communicate more visually, and master the art of napkin-sketching, whiteboard-drawing, and more. Tons of great resources on the website as well.

Design For How People Learn
Julie Dirksen
The simple and straightforward title pretty much says it all. But what it doesn’t tell you is how extremely creative, visually appealing, and entertaining this amazing book is. For people who design and/or deliver training or facilitate workshops of any kind, this book is my new #1 recommendation. Even if you don’t do training, it will help to make you a smarter thinker and learner.

Doodle Revolution, The: Unlock the Power to Think Differently
Sunni Brown
The Beatles sang, “You say you want a Rev-o-lution, we-ll you know, we all want to change the world.” Well, visual thinker Sunni Brown IS changing the world through her Doodle Revolution by single-handedly shifting the paradigm from thinking of doodles as useless scribbles to giving the doodle its rightful place as a powerful and under-appreciated catalyst for innovation. Warning: If you visit her website, just know that you will be entering a wonder-filled world of color and creativity that you may never want to leave.

Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success
Adam Grant
While this book is not necessarily about innovation, per se, the creative and powerful storytelling by Wharton professor Adam Grant teaches us how being a “giver” rather than a “taker,” and and how selflessly cultivating a climate of generosity can help foster a culture of collaboration and innovation. One of the best business books of the past year, by a terrific guy who definitely practices what he preaches.

Icarus Deception, The: How High Will You Fly?
Seth Godin
No book list on the topic of innovation would be complete without a selection by the brilliant and prolific thought leader Seth Godin. Last year it was Linchpin; this time around it’s Icarus. Impossible to describe in a sentence, the basic premise is: you are an artist and your work – whatever it is that you do – is your art. So now that you realize that, the question is: “what are you going to do about it?” If you don’t know Seth Godin yet, or don’t yet subscribe to his blog, you must. You just must. Take my word for it.

Idea Stormers: How to Lead and Inspire Creative Breakthroughs
Bryan W. Mattimore
Staring at a blank screen, flip chart or whiteboard is no way to come up with new ideas — especially as a team. So ideation specialist Bryan Mattimore generously shares with us a number of his time-tested ideation and innovation secrets, including his simple but powerful (and energizing) “brainwalking” process, as well as numerous other idea-generating facilitation techniques and an array of inspirational and entertaining real-world innovation success stories.

Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia — Multigenerational Management Ideas That Are Changing the Way We Run Things
Brad Szollose
In a world where Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials are thrown together and expected to work side by side in peace and harmony, the question becomes: “how can we leverage the power of this generational diversity to cultivate a climate of collaboration, creativity, and innovation?” Internet entrepreneur and keynote speaker Brad Szollose tells us how through humorous and insightful research and storytelling.

Naked Presenter, The: Delivering Powerful Presentations With or Without Slides
Garr Reynolds
To gain buy-in for your ideas, you need to be able to communicate and/or present them to your listener or audience. And this book is, without question, the single best book on public speaking I’ve ever read. And I’ve pretty much read them all. Written by Garr Reynolds, who I consider the king of presentations, this simple, aesthetically beautiful book is a resource that you will refer back to time and time again.
  
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery
Garr Reynolds
About how many business books can you say, “This book, literally, forever changed my life and the way in which I see the world?” This awe-inspiring, Zen-based piece of work  will take your breath away — and make you unable to sit through (or produce) another horrible PowerPoint presentation ever again. His website and blog are amazing resources, as well.

Quick and Nimble: Lessons From Leading CEOs on How to Create a Culture of Innovation
Adam Bryant
Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. So what can business leaders do to “build and foster a corporate culture that encourages innovation and drives results?” In his brand new book, New York Times business columnist and author of The Corner Office, Adam Bryant, identifies six key drivers that help companies to stay quick and nimble, as well as innovative.

Resonate: Present Visual Stories That Transform Audiences and Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations
Nancy Duarte
If Garr Reynolds is the king of presentation design and delivery, then Nancy Duarte is the queen. There is no way to put it other than to say that these two amazing – and amazingly beautiful – books will blow your mind. While Slide:ology is all about creating more effective visual presentations, Resonate is about telling more visual and impactful stories. Together, these two awesome works will transform you and help you transform your audiences. Great resources on her site as well.

Unstuck: 52 Ways to Get And Keep Your Creativity Flowing At Home, At Work & In Your Studio
Noah Scalin
Do you ever feel stuck when trying to come up with new creative ideas? This fun, colorful, visual, interactive book by Noah Scalin provides you with page after page of exercises intended to kick-start your creativity and help you generate new ideas. Whether you read it cover to cover, or simply open it to a random page, this stimulating do-it-yourself guidebook will help jump-start your creative flow.

White Space is Not Your Enemy: A Beginner’s Guide to Communicating Visually Through Graphic, Web, & Multimedia Design
Kim Golombisky and Rebecca Hagen

This book is a wonderful introduction to design thinking for non-designers. For someone like myself who previously knew very little about design, this visually beautiful book opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities.

While there are definitely other great books out there on the topic of innovation and creativity, you have to start somewhere. So this list of personal favorites is as good as any and, to me, they are some of the best of the best. Now is the perfect time to start turning those New Year’s “resolutions” into “real solutions,” and one way to do that is through reading.

I know this list may, at first glance, seem a little overwhelming, but remember that, as Confucius said, a reading journey of a thousand (or even 14) books begins with a single book. Or something like that. So let the wonderful books on this list be the fuel that powers your innovation engine and speeds you down the highway of success in 2014.

Pedro: Do you think people will vote for me?
Napoleon Dynamite: Heck yes! I’d vote for you.
Pedro: Like what are my skills?
Napoleon Dynamite: Well, you have a sweet bike. And you’re really good at hooking up with chicks. Plus you’re like the only guy at school who has a mustache.

Unlike Pedro, I don’t have a sweet bike. I can’t grow a mustache. I don’t have nunchuk skills, bow hunting skills, or computer hacking skills. Or Napoleon's awesome dance moves.

But I do have some skills and habits that I use pretty much every day that I’m happy to share in order to help others be more effective and successful.

So click here to go to my Hired Guns blog and learn what those five skills are!

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” — Shakespeare’s Hamlet

We can’t always control what happens to us, but we do have the power to control how we think, interpret, and respond. Irrational thought patterns and overly hasty emotional reactions are among the leading causes of stress and anxiety.

By making ourselves consciously aware of, identifying, and then correcting distorted and/or anxiety-inducing beliefs, we can think and act more calmly and rationally, and ultimately make ourselves less stressed, more satisfied, and happier as a result.

Click here to visit my Hired Guns blog to find out the 5 types of negative thinking...and what you can do about it!

“People do best, what they like best to do.”

That’s an old adage by Frederick W. Taylor, the original management guru. Seems like common sense, doesn’t it? And yet, so many people hate their jobs.

So why is that?

Well, think about your hobbies. You know, the things you do for fun. Whatever it is, whether it’s playing a sport, a musical instrument, practicing a craft, or whatever, you probably do it for at least one of the following two reasons: you’re good at it and/or you enjoy it. Otherwise, why do it?

If you love doing something, let’s say, playing the guitar – even if you’re not very good at it – you’re going to pick it up and fiddle around with it, spending your spare time practicing, and watching and listening to others play, all in the hope of getting better. Even if you’re not that great and know you’re probably never going to play in a band, you still do it because it’s fun.

Similarly, if you’re good at something, even if it’s balancing your checkbook, you may not love doing it, but because you’re skilled in math and it comes quick-and-easy to you, you don’t really mind doing it.

So, what about something that you love doing AND you’re good at it? Now you’ve hit the magic bulls eye: your passions and your skills are in alignment! Let’s say you love playing tennis and you discovered years ago that you’re pretty good at it. Most likely, with this combination of passion and skill, you enjoyed watching tennis on TV to see how the pros do it, didn’t mind hitting a tennis ball against the wall thousands of times, and got a rush from playing every chance you got.

Over time, your skills grew. And as your skills grew, so did your confidence, which led to your taking on tougher challenges, practicing more, winning against better and better opponents, having fun competing and winning, and enjoying your increased success. No, you’re probably not going to play in the U.S. Open, but you’re at a level that you are proud of and enjoy as you keep working on taking your game to the next level.

Now, what about when you are stuck doing something that you are not good at, and do not like doing? How successful do you think you are going to be?

Probably not very.

And, yet, this describes a lot of people’s jobs. So how does this happen?

Here’s how it happened to me: A number of years ago, I was out of work for a while when I was offered an amazing job as the VP of Business Development and head of the New York office for a leading west coast interactive agency. I was so honored by being hired and excited about working for this innovative company to help them grow their east coast business.

But once the initial excitement wore off, the job itself ended up being much tougher for me than I ever expected as I started just around the time of the dot-com crash when finding new business instantly became tougher and tougher. And, unfortunately, I quickly discovered the hard way that I did not possess the abilities or the personality type required to succeed in this kind of role – especially in this type of market environment.

And, so, as time went on and as I continued to fail, my stress level rose, and I began to like this job less and less, until I could not even bear to get up for work in the morning.

If you’ve ever had a job that you didn’t like AND that you were not good at, you know what I’m talking about. I was set up to fail every day, through nobody’s fault but my own, and I just wanted out. Getting laid off, despite my feeling of loss as I loved the company and the people, actually ended up being a huge relief.

In almost every job, there are going to be aspects of your position that you like more than others, and that you’re better at than others. And, similarly, there are going to be things you are good (or even great at), and things that you are not.

For example, in my current role as head of a management and leadership consulting, training, and coaching firm, I love and feel that I’m pretty good at the consulting, training, and coaching part. What I don’t love, and am not that great at, is the actual running of the business itself (especially, the financial and administrative side).

So, what to do about it?

Taking a look at the Passion/Skill Matrix and thinking about YOUR job:

1. Make a list of all the different things you do on a regular basis; and then

2. Place each of these different things in one of the four boxes.

The things that you Like/Love and are Good At: If you have a lot in that box, you’re incredibly lucky! Try to spend as much time as possible on these things. This is where the intersection of your skills and passions lie, and where you have the greatest potential to leverage your strengths and go from good to great.

The things that you Like or Love to do, but are NOT great at: This is a wonderful developmental opportunity! If you like something, or feel you have potential in this area, you are more likely to work at it by learning more about it, studying, practicing, and seeking out training and coaching. Einstein once said that, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” If you’re passionate about it, keep working at it. You never know how far you might get unless you try.

The things that you Don’t Like to do, but are Good At: Perhaps it’s something you used to like doing, or you just became the “go to” person by default because it comes naturally to you and everyone knows it. Well, this is a great developmental opportunity – for someone else! Here’s where you might be able to take on the role of a mentor or coach by helping someone else develop skills in this area. This is a win-win opportunity that will help someone else to grow while freeing you up to do other things.

And, lastly, the things that you Don’t Like (or Hate!) to do, AND are Not Good At: This is your “Failure Zone”…and you need to do whatever it takes to get out of this box as soon as you can. Again, we all have aspects of our jobs that we may not love, but if you are spending more than 25% of your time in this box, you are setting yourself up for a whole lot of pain and suffering. And, to be honest, if you’re in a job that you really, truly don’t like and that you are really, truly not good at, you’re not doing your employer any favors by staying in this role. Sometimes we stay just for the paycheck, but it’s really hard to sustain that over the long haul. And it’s ultimately going to take its toll on your physical and mental health.

As Dan Pink writes in his book Drive and as he speaks about in this amazing RSAnimate video, people are happiest and most productive when they have three key, intangible things: Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose.

If you are lucky enough to find a job where you spend most of your time with the freedom and flexibility to make your job your own (autonomy); in an environment that allows you to grow and develop into the best you can be (mastery); while doing work that matters (purpose), that’s when you’ve got it made.

As they say, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”

When it comes to “rules,” which of the following statements do you most agree with?

(a) Rules are rules…period.
(b) Rules are meant to be broken.
(c) It depends.
(d) All of the above.
(e) None of the above.

While there is no one “right” answer to the above question, the way you respond says a lot about you. The way you think and feel about rules in general will influence the decisions you make and the actions you take in different situations.

Let me tell you about two controversial, thought-provoking, and emotional incidents that occurred in the past week – both of which involved “following the rules” – and see what you think:

Incident #1

While playing softball in Central Park the other night, our manager noticed that one of the players on the other team was wearing baseball cleats with metal spikes which, according to league rules, are not allowed (as someone could potentially get hurt). The player claimed that he didn’t know about this rule, immediately apologized, and went back to the bench to change into his sneakers.

But not so fast! In the opinion of my team’s manager, this opposing player’s blatant and flagrant violation of league rules was too egregious to overlook or forgive. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. And what if he had spiked somebody and they got hurt? To our manager, there was no option but to go strictly by the book and demand that the umpire immediately throw him out of the game.

The fact that it was a minor and inadvertent oversight, that the player apologized for his mistake, that no one got hurt, that a number of the guys on our own team pleaded, “Forget about it, just let him change his shoes and play,” (and that we were already losing 10-2 in the 4th inning) all didn’t seem to matter. According to our manager, “Rules are rules.” No discussion. No debate. No warning. No second chances. One strike and you’re out.

Following the letter of the law, the umpire (sympathetically, apologetically, hesitantly, and incredulously) proceeded to inform the violator that he was sorry but, based on our manager’s demand, there was no choice but to ban him from the rest of the game.

Oh. And in case you were wondering, we went on to lose 20-2 as the angry opposing team, in the spirit of retribution, proceeded to pour it on and make us pay.

Incident #2

Someone posted the following question on a LinkedIn HR discussion group the other day: “I have a team member who is a good worker, but he does not report to the office on time. When I talk to him, he promises to be on time, but that does not last more than 2 or 3 days. Any suggestions?”

The responses came pouring in: “Write him up!”; “Dock his pay”; “Demote him!”; “Put it on his permanent record!”; “Give him a final warning!”; “Show him who’s boss!”; and “Don’t give him any more chances. Fire him immediately. This kind of insubordinate behavior simply cannot be tolerated! He’s got to be made an example of and taught to obey the rules!”

Yup, rules are rules. Or are they?

Let me start by saying that, yes, rules are important. Whether we call them policies, operating procedures, guiding principles, or ground rules, every organization needs to have processes and structure in place or else there would be chaos. Rules enable organizations to be organized. And they let the people within an organization (or a community or society) know what is allowed, and what is expected.

But, reflecting on the two incidents described above, my question is this: might there be times when “The Rules” should be overruled by common sense?

Now, just for clarification, and before instigating any kind of legal backlash, I’m talking about “rules,” not “laws” – which are a separate and more specific (though thematically related) issue. And I’m not talking about safety violations or ethical lapses. I’m talking about situations in which mindlessly and unquestioningly following certain edicts may not necessarily be the best or the right decision.

For example, in the softball incident, did the player on the other team “break the rules?” Yes, officially he did. But two key questions that should be asked are: (1) Was the rule violation intentional or accidental – and does that matter; and (2) how serious a rule violation was it, i.e., was any advantage received or any damage done as a result?

Keeping things in perspective, we’re not talking about a major league player caught taking steroids; we’re talking about a guy playing a fun league game in the park who was discovered to be wearing the wrong kind of shoes.

It was clear and obvious to everyone (including my manager and the umpire) that is was an accidental oversight, there was no intent to deceive, to defraud, or to reap any competitive advantage, and no harm of any kind was done. So, with that being the case, did the punishment (banishment from the game) fit the crime of wearing unsanctioned footwear or might it have been a tad excessive under the circumstances? Was my manager “wrong?” No. But was he “right”? I’ll let you play umpire and make that call.

And in the second example (good performer comes in late, with 90% of the HR mob demanding immediate and severe punishment), there are again two questions that come to mind: (1) What is the context; and (2) What are the specific details?

What jumped out at me and really pushed me over the edge was that everyone’s calling for this guy’s head without having ANY of the information!

From what we know, has this employee been guilty of breaking the rule of “everyone should get to work ‘on time’?” Apparently so. But do we know anything else? No, absolutely nothing!

What type of job are we talking about? Is he a salaried or hourly worker? What exactly does “on time” mean anyway? Is he expected to get there at 9:00am and is showing up at 9:05am, or is it 10:05am? Is he “late” once a week or every single day? How long has this been going on? Two weeks, two months, two years? And what is the reason for, and the impact of, his lateness?

Most importantly, before reporting him to HR and putting him on a disciplinary plan (remember, he has been described as a “good worker”), has the employee’s manager actually sat down and spoken to him one-on-one and heart-to-heart to find out what is going on with him – asking and listening, discussing expectations, making him aware of the business impact of the lateness (e.g., on customers, team members, the organization, and on the manager himself), and exploring possible solutions?

Years ago when I worked for one of the TV networks out in L.A., I was a high performer who had always gotten to work on time — until I hit a week of major car problems that resulted in my being about 30-45 minutes late three days in a row. How did my tyrannical boss address this issue? By saying (and I quote): “I don’t know what the hell is going on with you lately, but I’m sick of your marching in here late. If you can’t start getting here on time, you better start looking for another job.” Wow. So, you can see why I may be a little sensitive and overly empathetic when it comes to this particular example.

But the bottom line is that I was really amazed, and incredibly disappointed, to see how many of the LinkedIn discussion responses were about “policy, policy, policy.” Sad to say, but that’s one of the problems with the HR mentality in many companies, and why so many people (sorry to have to say it) hate HR.

As an honorary HR person who works in the learning and development field, I have seen too many Human Resources professionals who have lost sight of the fact that what we do is supposed to be all about engaging PEOPLE and helping them maximize their performance, productivity and potential – and not simply about setting and enforcing THE RULES, and focusing primarily on policies, processes, and procedures.

The first initial of “HR” stands for “Human,” and we need to deal with people more humanely. The root of the word “policy” is the same as that of “police,” so if HR people want to be viewed as something more than just the company police, perhaps companies need to rethink how we view, deal with, and find a gentle balance between the Rules and our People. Sometimes we need to go by the book; other times we need to go by “common sense.” But, unfortunately, as the saying goes, common sense is not always common practice.

And from a management and leadership perspective, this classic saying by legendary management guru Peter Drucker comes to mind: “Management is about doing things right, leadership is about doing the right thing.”

So when it comes to “The Rules” and the Drucker quote, perhaps we need fewer bureaucrats who rule “by the book,” and more people acting as leaders who are willing to make the tough but fair — and right — call, even if it results in some bending of the rules.

For me, as you may have guessed by now, my answer to the initial question about rules is: “it depends.” And among the multiple things that it may depend on, one of the main things is intent and the ability to wisely distinguish between “the spirit of the rule” and “the letter of the law.”

So the big question is: do “The Rules” rule, or do YOU?

*Two book recommendations on re-thinking “the rules”:

First Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently
(by Marcus Buckingham)

The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World
(by Chris Guillebeau)