The only cure for tough times is innovation....
CREATIVITY & INNOVATION
Embedding creativity and innovation throughout organizations by boosting "creativity competencies"

"Epstein is the only one out there who knows how to embed creativity into an organization from top to bottom—no bull, just concrete, practical techniques that keep creativity flowing day and night."
Michael Levine, author, Guerilla PR 2.0

Dr. Robert Epstein, Harvard-trained re- searcher and professor and former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today, is one of the world's leading experts on creativity and innovation. The developer of the first formal, empirically-based theory of creative expression—Generativity Theory—Dr. Epstein has shown in laboratory experiments that novel behavior in both animals and people emerges in an orderly and predictable way and that such behavior can be precisely engineered. His techniques for boosting creativity and innovation have been applied at companies worldwide, among them Bayer, Nestlé, and Proctor & Gamble.

"We had Dr. Epstein give a multi-day
seminar on creativity for law professors,
and I, for one, was impacted radically.
Barely a day has passed when I don't
consciously try to 'capture' my new
ideas. I consider his work on creativity
to be profoundly important."
Arthur W. Campbell, Professor of Law,
California Western School of Law,
award-winning poet and author

Consistent with Generativity Theory and related research, Dr. Epstein rejects the traditional belief that creativity is mysterious and magical. In discovering the underlying scientific principals behind creative expression, Dr. Epstein has been able to develop powerful techniques for boosting and directing creativity and innovation in individuals and organizations. To download a free copy of Dr. Epstein's e-booklet, Creativity for Crises: Ten Tweaks for Tough Times, click on the icon to the left.

"The year-long program in Brea,
California assessed—then improved—
the creativity skills of city employees,
managers, and contributors. In all,
ideas acted upon by the city raised
$600,000 in new revenue and reduced
expenditures by $3.5 million, ex-
ceeding the goal by $100,000."
The Facilitator, cover story

Embedding. Applying the rigorous research findings of Generativity Theory, Dr. Epstein teaches organizations how to embed creativity and innovation from board room to stock room. Most organizations leave innovation to chance, hoping it will emerge in times of crisis. Epstein shows that small, economical changes in everyday policies and procedures—team utilization, goal setting, evaluations, workplace design, and so on—boosts creative output continuously and permanently, dramatically increasing innovation. To read a recent scientific report about how he and his colleagues turned the city of Brea, California into a "City of Creativity," click here.

CREATIVITY NEWS: From the cover story of the June/July 2008
issue of Scientific American Mind, click here to read about Dr. Epstein's
landmark research on how to "Unleash Your Creativity." And check out
the video of Dr. Epstein talking with advertising guru Donny
Deutsch about how to boost innovation in business on
"The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch" on CNBC.

Assessment. Most tests of creativity label people as either "creative" or "not creative" (or something in between), but Dr. Epstein believes that everyone has roughly equal creative potential, no matter how much creativity they currently express. He has developed a unique, competency-based test of creative expression—the Epstein Creativity Competencies Inventory for Individuals (ECCI-i)—a scientifically validated instrument that measures four core skill-sets that individuals need in order to be able to express their creative potential, as well as the Epstein Creativity Competencies Inventory for Managers (ECCI-m), that measures eight skill-sets that managers, teachers, and other leaders need in order to help other people to express creativity.

"Epstein’s talk on creativity and innovation at the
Cambridge Forum on Executive Leadership was
one of the most exciting I’ve seen in years."
D. L. Holland, Vice President, Group
Human Resources, Bayer Corporation

Training. Dr. Epstein has also developed dozens of original games and exercises that strengthen these creativity competencies. Some of his scientific papers on this and other topics have been collected in the book Cognition, Creativity, and Behavior: Selected Essays (Praeger). His games and exercises are collected in two books, The Big Book of Creativity Games (McGraw-Hill) and Creativity Games for Trainers (McGraw-Hill). To read an article about Generativity Theory from the Encyclopedia of Creativity, click here. To read about how to train managers to boost creativity in an organization, access Dr. Epstein's article in the Harvard Business Review here.

"As a keynote speaker on creativity
at the National Invention Center,
Dr. Epstein did an excellent job of
stimulating our thinking and
helping us to view our circum-
stances from new perspectives."
Lee Ann Howard; Director of Human
Resources, Nestlé R& D Center

A "mini" ECCI-i test (which does not give separate competency scores) can be taken by clicking here. An abridged ECCI-i test (which does give competency scores) is available in both The Big Book of Creativity Games and Creativity Games for Trainers. The updated, unabridged version of the ECCI-i is available at MyCreativitySkills.com. An unabridged version of the ECCI-m is available here.

"Epstein’s work represents a most
remarkable insight into the creative process."
John Vaught, Inventor, Hewlett-Packard’s
Inkjet printing process

Dr. Epstein is available to give lectures on the scientific approach to understanding and boosting creativity and innovation, to provide relevant consulting services, and, on a limited basis, to lead training seminars that teach creativity competencies. Call Laura at 1-206-339-8311 for details, or write to LauraCraig@OutInFrontPublicity.com.

The Chautaqua Institution (audience of 3,000) ▪ National Inventors Hall of Fame ▪ The Smithsonian Institution ▪ Procter & Gamble ▪ Bayer ▪ Nestlé ▪ Dupont Merck ▪ Respironics ▪ City of Brea (California) ▪ Adhesives Manufacturers Association ▪ Chemical Specialties Manufacturers Association ▪ Army Research Institute ▪ U. S. Army National Training Center ▪ Creative Problem Solving Institute ▪ American Association of Plastic Surgeons ▪ Tenneco ▪ Georgia Power Company ▪ Institute for International Research ▪ Cambridge Institute for Executive Leadership ▪ National Association of Science Writers ▪ American Society of Safety Engineers ▪ TIME ▪ The New York Times ▪ Sports Illustrated ▪ NPR ▪ BBC ▪ Psychology Today ▪ Parenting ▪ Good Housekeeping ▪ USA Today ▪ Boston Globe ▪ New York Post ▪ New York Daily News ▪ National Enquirer ▪ Cosmopolitan ▪ Popular Science ▪ Wired ▪ Advertising Age ▪ New York Sun ▪ Christian Science Monitor ▪ Scientific American Mind ▪ CNBC ▪ Women's Health ▪ Reason ▪CBS Early Show▪Radio Netherlands▪ Wprost (Poland)▪ Baltimore Sun ▪ Verdens Gang (Norway)▪WHYY (Philadelphia)▪ Die Zeit (Germany)▪ Denver Post ▪ Marie Claire ▪WHDH (Boston)▪ Sunday Times (London)▪ London Evening Standard ▪ Sunday Post (Scotland)▪Voice of America▪ National Examiner ▪Fox News▪Swedish National Radio▪ Cosmogirl ▪48 Hours (CBS)▪Soap Talk▪ Observer (London)▪The Other Half (NBC)▪Sirius Satellite Radio▪ Elle ▪ Sunday Herald Tribune (Australia)▪WABC (New York)▪ Chicago Sun Times ▪CNN▪ Le Nouvel Observateur (France)▪ Focus (Germany)▪ Der Spiegel (Germany)▪ Diario (Italy)▪Radio National (Australia)▪BBC Radio Scotland▪ Los Angeles Times ▪ Mail on Sunday (London)▪ The Daily Mail (London)▪ Slate.com ▪ New York Daily News ▪The O'Reilly Factor (Fox)▪ San Diego Union-Tribune ▪WROR (New York)▪ Salon ▪The Mitch Albom Show (ABC)▪ The Guardian (London)▪ Washington Post ▪Canadian Broadcasting Company▪ Washington Times ▪The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet (Fox)▪TVO Television (Toronto)▪ Orlando Sentinel ▪The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch▪ Globe and Mail (Toronto)▪BBC World Service▪BBC Radio Ulster▪ Text zur Kunst (Germany)▪Smart Marriages Annual Meeting (audience of 2,500)▪ Reader's Digest ▪Southern Growth Policies Board▪Centre for Confidence and Well-Being (Scotland)▪University of Strathclyde▪International Business School (Isle of Man)▪Keio University (Tokyo)▪California Western School of Law▪Yale University▪University of Kyoto (Japan)▪Osaka City University (Japan)▪Rowland Institute for Science▪Marine World (San Francisco)▪The Neurosciences Institute ▪ Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality ▪ The Kinsey Institute ▪ American Psychological Association ▪ Association for Behavior Analysis ▪ Lifetime Television Network ▪ CBS Sunday Morning ▪ National Geographic ▪ l'Actualité (Canada) ▪ Smart Money ▪ Rady School of Management ▪ Max Planck Institute for Human Development ▪ iChannel ▪ Daily Herald ▪

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

As the co-creator and former director of the annual Loebner Prize Competition in Artificial Intelligence (first held in 1991), Dr. Epstein brought together some of the most eminent thinkers in the world—W. V. Quine, I. Bernard Cohen, Ray Kurzweil, Daniel Dennett, Joseph Weizenbaum, Oliver Selfridge, Allen Newell, and others—to design and oversee a contest to find the world's first "thinking" computer, along the lines suggested by computer pioneer Alan Turing in 1950. With Gary Roberts and Grace Beber, Dr. Epstein has recently edited a comprehensive volume called Parsing the Turing Test: Philosophical and Methodical Issues in the Quest for the Thinking Computer, which reviews the status of Turing's provocative predictions.

"PARSING THE TURING TEST is a landmark exploration of both the philosophical and methodological issues surrounding the search for true artificial intelligence. Will computers and robots ever think and communicate the way humans do? When a computer crosses the threshold into self-consciousness, will it immediately jump into the Internet and create a World Mind? Will intelligent computers someday recognize the rather doubtful intelligence of human beings? Distinguished psychologists, computer scientists, philosophers, and programmers from around the world debate these weighty issues – and, in effect, the future of the human race – in this important volume."

In the June/July 2006 issue of Scientific American Mind, Dr. Epstein explored this issue in the context of describing his "date" in Japan with a beautiful robot. To download the article, "My Date with a Robot," click here.

For a related video clip, which has had more than 2.5 million views on YouTube, click here. To read Dr. Epstein's latest article on this topic, "From Russia, with Love: How I Got Fooled (and Somewhat Humiliated) by a Computer," click here.

Also of possible interest, Dr. Epstein's embarrassing interview on NPR's "Radiolab" about the Russia incident. Click here for that. 

Dr. Epstein is available to give talks on this topic.

ADOLESCENCE & ADULTNESS

"...revolutionary"

Working with colleague Diane Dumas, Dr. Robert Epstein, a longtime researcher and professor and the former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today, has developed a unique and comprehensive test—the Epstein-Dumas Test of Adultness (EDTA)—that measures 14 different competencies that appear to define adult functioning in modern society.

"Adolescence is a social experiment
that failed. Dr. Epstein's book traces the
history of the problem, demonstrates
with unrelenting perseverance that much of
the turmoil of our teens is a creation of
our culture, and offers a specific and
detailed proposal for getting our young
people back on track. If you are concerned
about America's young—and about
America's future—this is a must-read."
Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the
United States House of Representatives and
Founder of the Center for Health Transformation

NEW! If you are a parent of teens or preteens, you might want to take Dr. Epstein's newest test, the Epstein Teen Parenting Inventory, accessible at TeenParentingSkills.com.

Also available now: three tests to help you understand your teen and guide him or her quickly toward responsible adulthood.... the Epstein-Dumas Test of Adultness, the Epstein-Dumas Infantilization Inventory, and the newly released Extended Childhood Disorder Inventory. Do you know a teen who's angry, defiant, or depressed? He or she may be suffering from Extended Childhood Disorder, a treatable condition created by a society that infantilizes its young people and isolates them from responsible adults. To take the new test, click HERE.

“Here are America’s youth, regarded
keenly, knowingly–with many popular
assumptions and notions set aside in favor
of an accurate and thoughtful portrayal
of our young fellow citizens, and too, many of
the rest of us, who may fail them by overlooking
their achievements and possibilities.”
Robert Coles, M.D., professor of psychiatry,
Harvard University; recipient, Pulitzer Prize

For Dr. Epstein's recent essay in Education Week, "Let's Abolish High School," click here. For Dr. Epstein's recent essay in Scientific American Mind, "The Myth of the Teen Brain," click here. If you're an educator interested in adopting the book for a course, email Quill Driver Books and request an Executive Summary of the book, which includes detailed chapter summaries.

“By shielding and protecting young people
from adulthood, we have isolated them from
their elders, from their spiritual roots, and
from their heritage, leaving many of them
angry and confused in the spiritually empty
world of teen culture. We need to reexamine
our basic assumptions about young people,
and Epstein shows us how.”
Deepak Chopra, M.D., author, Life After Death:
The Burden of Proof

Dr. Epstein is currently analyzing data from more than 30,000 people between ages 9 and 83 who have taken his online test of adultness (http://HowAdultAreYou.com). These new data confirm his earlier finding: that many teens are at least as competent as adults across a wide range of competencies. The new data also show a positive relationship between scores on the test and measures of happiness, personal success, and professional success.

Praise for THE CASE AGAINST ADOLESCENCE:

ALBERT ELLIS: “...one of the most revolutionary books I have ever read.” (from the Foreword)

NEWT GINGRICH: “If you are concerned about America's young—and about
America's future—this is a must-read.”

M. SCOTT PECK: “...has vast consequence for our society.”

JOYCE BROTHERS: “…a profoundly important book.”

BUZZ ALDRIN: “This book will bring our ideas about teens down to earth.”

DEEPAK CHOPRA: “We need to reexamine our basic assumptions about young people, and Epstein shows us how.”

ROBERT COLES: “Here are America’s youth, regarded keenly, knowingly....”

LEON BOTSTEIN: “...a vital book for parents and policy makers on the state and federal levels”

MARIEL HEMINGWAY: “This book has opened my eyes….”

MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI: “...a very original approach, sure to ignite discussion and controversy.”

ALVIN TOFFLER: “If you care about the future of our young people, The Case Against Adolescence is an essential read.”

DREW PINSKY: “...a landmark book”

SUZANNE SOMERS: “Dr. Epstein makes a good case for adolescents to be treated not as a group with a formula, but as individual unique people.”

JEAN LIEDLOFF: “...a powerful case”

ELLEN LANGER: “His arguments deserve serious consideration and open debate.”

JOHN TAYLOR GATTO: “Whether you’re a parent, a teacher, a policy maker, or a recovering victim of enforced childishness, you need to read this book.”

CURTIS SLIWA: “…an amazing book, long overdue.”

STARRED REVIEW IN THE MAY 2007 LIBRARY JOURNAL:

*Epstein, Robert. The Case Against Adolescence: Rediscovering the Adult in Every Teen. Quill Driver. May 2007. c.512p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-1-884956-70-6. $24.95. SOC SCI

Time to abolish adolescence­ so argues Epstein, former editor in chief of Psychology Today and host of the Sirius Satellite Radio show "Psyched!," in this extensive, groundbreaking book. He claims that teenagers are capable and should be given responsibilities the moment they're ready. Globally, teens in preindustrial countries are already integrated into responsible, adult society, and teen problems as we know them do not exist. Only in Western industrialized countries are teens isolated from adults through education and laws. American teens are overly dependent on drugs and alcohol, obsessed with their appearance, careless about sex, and moody/depressed/angry. This large volume covers it all, especially the positives: what kids can do, what decisions they should be making. For example, in the field of education, Epstein advocates shorter compulsory school hours, mandatory education for basics only, more individualized instruction, and an end to age segregation. Epstein's credentials and research are extensive; his arguments, persuasive. He is an astute observer of the world around him, especially its do-nothing adolescents. Sure to generate much discussion.