
Creative Acts for Curious People
How to Think, Create, and Lead in Unconventional Ways (Stanford d.school Library)
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $18.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Sarah Stein Greenberg
-
Scott Doorley
About this listen
“A delightful, compelling book that offers a dazzling array of practical, thoughtful exercises designed to spark creativity, help solve problems, foster connection, and make our lives better.” (Gretchen Rubin, New York Times best-selling author and host of the Happier podcast)
In an era of ambiguous, messy problems - as well as extraordinary opportunities for positive change - it’s vital to have both an inquisitive mind and the ability to act with intention. Creative Acts for Curious People is filled with ways to build those skills with resilience, care, and confidence.
At Stanford University’s world-renowned Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, a.k.a. “the d.school", students and faculty, experts and seekers bring together diverse perspectives to tackle ambitious projects; this book contains the experiences designed to help them do it. A provocative and highly visual companion, it’s a definitive resource for people who aim to draw on their curiosity and creativity in the face of uncertainty. Teeming with ideas about discovery, learning, and leading the way through unknown creative territory, Creative Acts for Curious People includes memorable stories and more than 80 innovative exercises.
Curated by executive director Sarah Stein Greenberg, after being honed in the classrooms of the d.school, these exercises originated in some of the world’s most inventive and unconventional minds, including those of d.school and IDEO founder David M. Kelley, ReadyMade magazine founder Grace Hawthorne, innovative choreographer Aleta Hayes, Google chief innovation evangelist Frederik G. Pferdt, and many more.
To bring fresh approaches to any challenge - world changing or close to home - you can draw on exercises such as Expert Eyes to hone observation skills, How to Talk to Strangers to foster understanding, and Designing Tools for Teams to build creative leadership. The activities are at once lighthearted, surprising, tough, and impactful - and reveal how the hidden dynamics of design can drive more vibrant ways of making, feeling, exploring, experimenting, and collaborating at work and in life. This book will help you develop the behaviors and deepen the mindsets that can turn your curiosity into ideas, and your ideas into action.
Includes a downloadable PDF for printing of key exercises from the book
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2021 Sarah Stein Greenberg, Stanford d.school (P)2021 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Hidden Potential
- The Science of Achieving Greater Things
- By: Adam Grant
- Narrated by: Adam Grant, Maurice Ashley, R. A. Dickey, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live in a world that’s obsessed with talent. We celebrate gifted students in school, natural athletes in sports, and child prodigies in music. But admiring people who start out with innate advantages leads us to overlook the distance we ourselves can travel. We underestimate the range of skills that we can learn and how good we can become. We can all improve at improving. And when opportunity doesn’t knock, there are ways to build a door.
-
-
Nope
- By Anna OConnor-McClure on 10-27-23
By: Adam Grant
-
The Creative Act
- A Way of Being
- By: Rick Rubin
- Narrated by: Rick Rubin
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many famed music producers are known for a particular sound that has its day. Rick Rubin is known for something else: creating a space where artists of all different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer. He has made a practice of helping people transcend their self-imposed expectations in order to reconnect with a state of innocence from which the surprising becomes inevitable. Over the years, he has learned that being an artist isn’t about your specific output, it’s about your relationship to the world.
-
-
Rick is Art
- By Ira Henke on 01-17-23
By: Rick Rubin
-
Think Faster, Talk Smarter
- How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot
- By: Matt Abrahams
- Narrated by: Matt Abrahams
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many of us dread having to convey our ideas to others, often feeling ill-equipped, anxious, and awkward. Public speaking experts help by focusing on planned communication experiences such as slide presentations, pitches, or formal talks. Yet, most of our professional and personal communication occurs in spontaneous situations that creep up on us and all too often leave us flustered and stumbling for words. Stanford lecturer, podcast host, and communication expert Matt Abrahams provides tangible, actionable skills to help even the most anxious of speakers succeed when speaking spontaneously.
-
-
It has improved a lot my communication skills
- By Anonymous User on 12-12-23
By: Matt Abrahams
-
Creative Confidence
- Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All
- By: Tom Kelley, David Kelley
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Too often, companies and individuals assume that creativity and innovation are the domain of the "creative types." But two of the leading experts in innovation, design, and creativity on the planet show us that each and every one of us is creative. In an incredibly entertaining and inspiring narrative that draws on countless stories from their work at IDEO, the Stanford d.school, and with many of the world's top companies, David and Tom Kelley identify the principles and strategies that will allow us to tap into our creative potential.
-
-
A dull pointless book
- By A on 12-21-13
By: Tom Kelley, and others
-
Build
- An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making
- By: Tony Fadell
- Narrated by: Tony Fadell, Roger Wayne
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tony Fadell led the teams that created the iPod, iPhone and Nest Learning Thermostat and learned enough in 30+ years in Silicon Valley about leadership, design, startups, Apple, Google, decision-making, mentorship, devastating failure and unbelievable success to fill an encyclopedia.
-
-
Best guide for start up founders, ever!!!
- By Curly Beard on 05-28-22
By: Tony Fadell
-
Ideaflow
- The Only Business Metric That Matters
- By: Jeremy Utley, Perry Klebahn
- Narrated by: David Kelley, Jeremy Utley, Perry Klebahn
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How can you come up with great ideas by yourself, or in the context of your team, and quickly determine which are worthy of investment? The simple metric of ideaflow determines success like no other. Ideaflow is a mindset, a way of approaching all your business problems, that multiplies your efforts and unleashes your full potential. Nurture ideaflow and watch your results transform.
-
-
Great book, but…
- By Mark Nutting, CSCS*D, NSCA-CPT*D on 12-27-22
By: Jeremy Utley, and others
-
Hidden Potential
- The Science of Achieving Greater Things
- By: Adam Grant
- Narrated by: Adam Grant, Maurice Ashley, R. A. Dickey, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live in a world that’s obsessed with talent. We celebrate gifted students in school, natural athletes in sports, and child prodigies in music. But admiring people who start out with innate advantages leads us to overlook the distance we ourselves can travel. We underestimate the range of skills that we can learn and how good we can become. We can all improve at improving. And when opportunity doesn’t knock, there are ways to build a door.
-
-
Nope
- By Anna OConnor-McClure on 10-27-23
By: Adam Grant
-
The Creative Act
- A Way of Being
- By: Rick Rubin
- Narrated by: Rick Rubin
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many famed music producers are known for a particular sound that has its day. Rick Rubin is known for something else: creating a space where artists of all different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer. He has made a practice of helping people transcend their self-imposed expectations in order to reconnect with a state of innocence from which the surprising becomes inevitable. Over the years, he has learned that being an artist isn’t about your specific output, it’s about your relationship to the world.
-
-
Rick is Art
- By Ira Henke on 01-17-23
By: Rick Rubin
-
Think Faster, Talk Smarter
- How to Speak Successfully When You're Put on the Spot
- By: Matt Abrahams
- Narrated by: Matt Abrahams
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many of us dread having to convey our ideas to others, often feeling ill-equipped, anxious, and awkward. Public speaking experts help by focusing on planned communication experiences such as slide presentations, pitches, or formal talks. Yet, most of our professional and personal communication occurs in spontaneous situations that creep up on us and all too often leave us flustered and stumbling for words. Stanford lecturer, podcast host, and communication expert Matt Abrahams provides tangible, actionable skills to help even the most anxious of speakers succeed when speaking spontaneously.
-
-
It has improved a lot my communication skills
- By Anonymous User on 12-12-23
By: Matt Abrahams
-
Creative Confidence
- Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All
- By: Tom Kelley, David Kelley
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Too often, companies and individuals assume that creativity and innovation are the domain of the "creative types." But two of the leading experts in innovation, design, and creativity on the planet show us that each and every one of us is creative. In an incredibly entertaining and inspiring narrative that draws on countless stories from their work at IDEO, the Stanford d.school, and with many of the world's top companies, David and Tom Kelley identify the principles and strategies that will allow us to tap into our creative potential.
-
-
A dull pointless book
- By A on 12-21-13
By: Tom Kelley, and others
-
Build
- An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making
- By: Tony Fadell
- Narrated by: Tony Fadell, Roger Wayne
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tony Fadell led the teams that created the iPod, iPhone and Nest Learning Thermostat and learned enough in 30+ years in Silicon Valley about leadership, design, startups, Apple, Google, decision-making, mentorship, devastating failure and unbelievable success to fill an encyclopedia.
-
-
Best guide for start up founders, ever!!!
- By Curly Beard on 05-28-22
By: Tony Fadell
-
Ideaflow
- The Only Business Metric That Matters
- By: Jeremy Utley, Perry Klebahn
- Narrated by: David Kelley, Jeremy Utley, Perry Klebahn
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How can you come up with great ideas by yourself, or in the context of your team, and quickly determine which are worthy of investment? The simple metric of ideaflow determines success like no other. Ideaflow is a mindset, a way of approaching all your business problems, that multiplies your efforts and unleashes your full potential. Nurture ideaflow and watch your results transform.
-
-
Great book, but…
- By Mark Nutting, CSCS*D, NSCA-CPT*D on 12-27-22
By: Jeremy Utley, and others
-
Embrace Your Weird
- Face Your Fears and Unleash Creativity
- By: Felicia Day
- Narrated by: Felicia Day
- Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Embrace Your Weird, New York Times best-selling author, producer, actress, TV writer, and award-winning web series creator Felicia Day takes you on a journey to find, rekindle, or expand your creative passions. Whether you enjoy writing, baking, painting, podcasting, playing music, or have yet to uncover your favorite creative outlet, Embrace Your Weird will help you unlock the power of self-expression. Get motivated. Get creative. Get weird.
-
-
Embrace This Book!
- By Mark M. on 10-15-19
By: Felicia Day
-
Creativity
- The Psychology of Discovery and Invention
- By: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Creativity is about capturing those moments that make life worth living. Legendary psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi reveals what leads to these moments - be it the excitement of the artist at the easel or the scientist in the lab - so that this knowledge can be used to enrich people's lives. Drawing on nearly 100 interviews with exceptional people, from biologists and physicists, to politicians and business leaders, to poets and artists, as well as his 30 years of research, Csikszentmihalyi uses his famous flow theory to explore the creative process.
-
-
squishy
- By GoingGoingGone... on 07-06-16
-
Building a Second Brain
- A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential
- By: Tiago Forte
- Narrated by: André Santana, Tiago Forte
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For the first time in history, we have instantaneous access to the world’s knowledge. There has never been a better time to learn, to contribute, and to improve ourselves. Yet, rather than feeling empowered, we are often left feeling overwhelmed by this constant influx of information. The very knowledge that was supposed to set us free has instead led to the paralyzing stress of believing we’ll never know or remember enough. Now, this eye-opening and accessible guide shows how you can easily create your own personal system for knowledge management, otherwise known as a Second Brain.
-
-
Huge over promise
- By MARCELO F. on 03-15-23
By: Tiago Forte
-
Find Your Why
- A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team
- By: Simon Sinek, David Mead, Peter Docker
- Narrated by: Stephen Shedletzky, Simon Sinek
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
I believe fulfillment is a right and not a privilege. We are all entitled to wake up in the morning inspired to go to work, feel safe when we’re there and return home fulfilled at the end of the day. Achieving that fulfillment starts with understanding exactly WHY we do what we do. As Start With Why has spread around the world, countless readers have asked me the same question: How can I apply Start With Why to my career, team, company or nonprofit? Along with two of my colleagues, Peter Docker and David Mead, I created this hands-on, step-by-step guide to help you find your WHY.
-
-
DO NOT GET THE AUDIO BOOK GET THE BOOK BOOK
- By Jeff and Erin on 12-03-17
By: Simon Sinek, and others
-
The Art of Gathering
- How We Meet and Why It Matters
- By: Priya Parker
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every day, we find ourselves in gatherings, Priya Parker says in The Art of Gathering. If we can understand what makes these gatherings effective and memorable, then we can reframe and redirect them to benefit everyone, host and guest alike. Parker defines a gathering as three or more people who come together for a specific purpose. When we understand why we gather, she says - to acknowledge, to learn, to challenge, to change - we learn how to organize gatherings that are relevant and memorable.
-
-
Would have liked a different narrator
- By Marta on 08-26-18
By: Priya Parker
-
Scaling People
- Tactics for Management and Company Building
- By: Claire Hughes Johnson
- Narrated by: Claire Hughes Johnson
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Scaling People is a practical and empathetic guide to being an effective leader and manager in a high-growth environment. The tactical information it puts forward—including guidance on crafting foundational documents, strategic and financial planning, hiring and team development, and feedback and performance mechanisms—can be applied to companies of any size, in any industry.
-
-
Comprehensive and practical handbook for operating conpanies
- By J Kuo on 03-16-24
-
Creative Quest
- By: Questlove
- Narrated by: Questlove, Fred Armisen, Tariq Trotter, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Creative Quest, Questlove synthesizes all the creative philosophies, lessons, and stories he's heard from the many creators and collaborators in his life, and reflects on his own experience, to advise listeners and fans on how to consider creativity and where to find it. He addresses many topics - what it means to be creative, how to find a mentor and serve as an apprentice, the wisdom of maintaining a creative network, coping with critics and the foibles of success, and the specific pitfalls of contemporary culture.
-
-
Questlove once again is my fairy godmother
- By Richard on 04-26-18
By: Questlove
-
Subtract
- The Untapped Science of Less
- By: Leidy Klotz
- Narrated by: Leidy Klotz, Robert Petkoff
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We pile on “to-dos” but don’t consider “stop-doings”. We create incentives for good behavior, but don’t get rid of obstacles to it. We collect new-and-improved ideas, but don’t prune the outdated ones. Every day, across challenges big and small, we neglect a basic way to make things better: We don’t subtract. Leidy Klotz’s pioneering research shows why.
-
-
Couldn't wait for it to be over
- By Amazon Customer on 06-09-21
By: Leidy Klotz
-
Designing Your Life
- How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life
- By: Bill Burnett, Dave Evans
- Narrated by: Bill Burnett, Dave Evans
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this book Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create lives that are both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of whom or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise.
-
-
Get the printed version
- By dogwood lady on 12-03-16
By: Bill Burnett, and others
-
StrengthsFinder 2.0
- By: Tom Rath
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In StrengthsFinder 2.0, Gallup unveils the new and improved version of its popular assessment, language of 34 themes, and much more. While you can listen to this book in one sitting, you'll use it as a reference for decades.
-
-
The code is available.
- By R on 06-13-17
By: Tom Rath
-
Humor, Seriously
- Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life (And How Anyone Can Harness It. Even You.)
- By: Jennifer Aaker, Naomi Bagdonas
- Narrated by: Jennifer Aaker, Naomi Bagdonas, Michael Lewis
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We are living through a period of unprecedented uncertainty and upheaval in both our personal and professional lives. So it should come as a surprise to exactly no one that trust, human connection, and mental well-being are all on the decline. This may seem like no laughing matter. Yet, the research shows that humor and laughter are among the most valuable tools we have at our disposal for strengthening bonds and relationships, diffusing stress and tension, boosting resilience, and performing when the stakes are high.
-
-
It gives me several good laughs, but that’s about it.
- By Annie on 05-11-21
By: Jennifer Aaker, and others
-
How to Begin
- Start Doing Something That Matters
- By: Michael Bungay Stanier
- Narrated by: Michael Bungay Stanier
- Length: 3 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If you are ready to get unstuck, to figure out what you should do that matters, to unlock your best self, to take on a project that you know is yours — you need to know How to Begin.
-
-
Woke
- By Mommaof7 on 04-25-22
Critic reviews
"In Creative Acts for Curious People, [Greenberg] guides you to build your own creative skills with a fun, often light-hearted approach. But make no mistake: [Sarah’s] enjoyable exercises are fully based in research and practice. Boost your creativity and learn to solve complex problems in new ways with Creative Acts for Curious People.”—Success
“Attending classes at the d.school changed my life. I learned that to build empathy and creativity, you have to break out of habits and patterns to see the world in new ways. This book is packed end to end with ways to do just that by taking any part of the design process to a new level, be it in the initial need-finding stage or deep into the execution phase. The illustrations are great too!”—Mike Krieger, co-founder of Instagram
“Whether you’re an independent artist seeking new approaches to your work or a leader aiming to mentor and galvanize your people, this book has an experience for you. I plan to put it to use in my own nonprofit leadership and personal creative projects.”—Susannah Felts, BookPage
What listeners say about Creative Acts for Curious People
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Vesa Tuomela
- 11-29-21
Designing is a better learning moment!
I loved the way how the acts in the book can unlock creativity in each of us, we all can be designers. The design approach as a learning process and guidance for practical acts are truly inspirational.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!