Organizational Creativity: A Practical Guide for Innovators & Entrepreneurs

Reignite your creative-thinking skills to produce innovative solutions

Organizational Creativity: A Practical Guide for Innovators and Entrepreneurs by Gerard J. Puccio, John F. Cabra, and Nathan Schwagler, is a compelling new text designed to transform the reader into a creative thinker and leader. Arguing that creativity is an essential skill that must be developed, the authors take a highly practical approach, providing strategies, tools, and cases to help readers hone their creative abilities. Whether students are preparing to become entrepreneurs or to work in an established firm, this text will help them survive and thrive in an era of innovation and change.

Gerard J. Puccio is the Department Chair and Professor in the Department for Creativity and Change Leadership, SUNY-Buffalo State.

Dr. Puccio has written more than 60 articles, chapters and books. His most recent book titled Organizational Creativity and Innovation: A Personal Journey for Innovators and Entrepreneurs (2018 by Sage Press), highlights the crucial role creativity plays in an economy driven by innovation. Prior to this publication, Dr. Puccio co-authored The Innovative Team, published by Jossey-Bass, a fable about a team that was able to apply proven creative-thinking tools to turn around a dysfunctional and unproductive situation.

Dr. Puccio is an accomplished speaker and consultant; he has worked with major corporations, universities, and numerous school districts. Some of his recent clients include the BBC, Fisher-Price Brands, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Kraft Foods, The Smithsonian Institution, BNP Paribas, Rubbermaid, Coca-Cola, and the Fashion Institute of Technology. He has delivered creativity workshops and presentations across the United States and in more than 20 different countries.

In 2013 Dr. Puccio was selected by the Teaching Company as one of America’s Great Lecturers and as such was invited to design and deliver a course comprised of twenty-four 30-minute video sessions. This “Great Course,” titled The Creative Thinker’s Toolkit, was released in January 2014. Dr. Puccio was also a featured speaker at a TEDx event held in New York City in December of 2012.

Gerard holds a Ph.D. in organizational psychology from the University of Manchester, England.

John F. Cabra is an Associate Professor at the State University of New York College at Buffalo′s International Center for Studies in Creativity where as part of a team he focuses on teaching, assessing and researching the science of creativity. John specializes in facilitating and accelerating scientific and interdisciplinary innovation. John has written journal articles, books chapters and books in the areas of business, technology, engineering, and creativity.

In recognition for his work, he was awarded the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, and grants from the National Science Foundation and the State University of New York.  John is also a Fulbright Scholar.

Some organizations that have benefited from John’s training and organizational development expertise include IBM, Pfizer, Kraft Foods, Coca-Cola, British Home Office, National Science Foundation, NASA, Drexel University, Penn State University, Purdue University, and The Ohio State University.

Dr. Cabra held internal consulting positions for American Airlines in the fields of training and development, employee relations, and organizational development.  Before joining American Airlines, he was a training and organizational development specialist for Fisher–Price Toys.

Nathan Schwagler is a founding Co-Director of The Dalí Museum Innovation Labs, where he serves as lead program designer and executive facilitator. Before joining the Museum, Nathan served as the nation′s first Business School "Creative-In-Residence" at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, where he designed and delivered courses on Creativity and Innovation and New Venture Creation. His students were back-to-back-to-back national champions in the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organizations’ business simulation competition, and his 3-member startup academic department was recognized as the top Emerging Entrepreneurship Education Program across the entire United States by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) in 2013.

As a consultant, Nathan has supported more than 150 organizations including: Abbott Labs, Transamerica Insurance, DuPont Chemical, Novartis, the Miller/Coors Brewing co., the Converse Shoe co. (NIKE), the Tampa Bay Rays, the Home Shopping Network, Bloomin’ Brands, Raymond James Financial, and thousands of innovators as they’ve deployed their innovation capabilities to drive business outcomes.