The Creative Contrarian: 20 "Wise Fool" Strategies to Boost Creativity and Curb Groupthink

Tackle your thorniest problems using the Wise Fool’s savvy Strategies! 

The Wise Fool is the archetypal contrarian known for his creativity, irreverence, and humor. He looks at life in unorthodox ways and pushes back against the status quo. Throughout history, powerful decision-makers (Egyptian pharaohs, Chinese emperors, Persian sultans, and European kings) consulted Wise Fools to question the assumptions that kept them mired in stale and obsolete solutions.  

In The Creative Contrarian, best-selling author (A Whack on the Side of the Head), speaker, and toy designer (Ball of Whacks) Dr. Roger von Oech provides readers with a fully-illustrated “Wise Fool Guide” to challenge established procedures and engage in creative thinking.  

Roger shows how to gain the confidence to speak up in “groupthink” situations — and boldly present a different perspective. From laughing at your most beloved ideas to test their validity to adding constraints to problems to reveal new solutions, he offers a framework for creativity that works in business, design, education, and anywhere new ideas are required — and appreciated! 

Employing a wealth of stories and examples, The Creative Contrarian presents 20 Wise Fool Strategies:  

• Some offer ideas to enhance your creativity (“Reverse Your Perspective,” “Look for Ambiguity,” and “Kiss a Favorite Idea Goodbye”)  
• Some provide tips on how to break away from the herd (“Buck the Crowd,” “Flex Your Risk Muscle,” and “Seek Other Right Answers”) 
• And still others convey prudent warnings in an unpredictable world (“Exercise Humility,” “Imagine Unintended Outcomes,” and “Develop a Thick Skin”) 

Together, these jewels of insight will help you see things from the Wise Fool’s perspective! As the Wise Fool puts it: “Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it’s the only one you have”; and “Every ‘right’ idea eventually becomes the ‘wrong’ one.” 

The Creative Contrarian: 20 “Wise Fool” Strategies to Boost Creativity and Curb Group think is an indispensable resource for anyone seeking fresh solutions to common problems at the office, in the classroom, or at home.