Book Review by Jack Falt
The introductory chapter looks at what the author means by creativity. Her definition is “...creativity as the ability to consistently produce different and valuable results.” Compare this to Marci Segal’s (Creativity and personality Type, 2001) definition - “Creativity: Shifting energies to actualize and sustain fulfilling change.” The definitions are similar with this book placing more emphasis on the world of work.
The next chapter does the usual introductory explanation of the eight preferences with short quizzes for readers to get a feel for what their types might be. Dominant and auxiliary are explained as these are needed later on as each of the eight dominants has to take into consideration its two possible auxiliaries. E.g. Adventurer - ESTP: Auxiliary Creative Talent - Inventor (Ti) and ESFP: Auxiliary Creative Talent - Poet (Fi).
The bulk of the book is in eight chapters, one for each function. It looks at the main ways the function is creative, the obstacles faced and ways to boost creativity. Each of these sections is accompanied by a chart that is repeated in a collective form at the end of the book.
The final section looks at how to put these creative talents to use for oneself and into a team setting.
This is a rather academic book with very few examples. I find a book is more interesting to read when there are lots of anecdotes that bring the theory alive. The book is well-grounded in Jung/Myers theory and has a good bibliography and chapter notes. It is quite unlike Marci Segal’s book which is filled with exercises. It would be a useful reference book.