Book Review 1: Deliberate Creative Teams

Published about 2 months ago • 1 min read

Hi Reader!

"I'm not a creative person."

I hear this a lot from the leaders I work with. Smart, experienced, capable people — who have somehow decided that creativity is a trait they weren't given.

And I get it. Most of us grew up being sorted: the artistic kids and everyone else. If you couldn't draw, you were filed under "not creative," and that was that.

But the more I learn about creativity, the more I realize that it has nothing to do with drawing. (or at least drawing is just one side of it)

Dr. Amy Climer, who has spent decades studying team innovation, describes creativity as valuable novelty. It's solving a problem in a new way.

What I find most powerful about her book, Deliberate Creative Teams, is the word in the title: deliberate. She makes the case that innovation isn't something that visits a few gifted people in the shower. It's a process. One that can be learned, practiced, and repeated — by any team, under any leader willing to build the right conditions for it.

Find the book and the full sale here.

This matters enormously right now. Because in an AI-driven world, the teams that will stand out aren't the ones that execute fastest. They're the ones that can identify the right problem, find a fresh angle, and implement something genuinely new. That's a human capability. And it can be developed.

Deliberate Creative Teams gives leaders a practical roadmap for exactly that — how to cultivate collective creativity as a system, not a personality trait.

If you've ever told yourself you're not creative, or heard it from someone on your team, this book is worth your time. It's part of a Kindle Flash Sale running April 20–23, where 50+ books from entrepreneurs and thought leaders drop to $0.99. No email opt-in, no Kindle device needed.

Find the book and the full sale her.

See you next week.

Daria

P.S. The sale runs four days only — April 20 through 23. If there's a leader on your team who's stuck in the "I'm not creative" story, this might be the nudge they need.

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