Fixed How to perfect the fine art of problem solving

Amy Herman

Book - 2021

"An art historian and lawyer who uses works of art to teach us how to hone our perceptions and visual intelligence, presents a paradigm-shattering twist on problem solving that helps us find solutions to the problems we face every day. As technology has become essential to our daily lives, our reliance on the internet and our electronic devices has exploded, short-circuiting our brains and weakening the critical skills we need to find solutions to difficult issues. Amy Herman has developed a unique approach to problem solving that uses works of art to revitalize our minds and help us think creatively. She's trained thousands of people from organizations around the world, including the FBI, CIA, Navy SEALs, the IMF, Scotland Yard, ...Interpol, and the State Department. In Fixed., Herman outlines her step-by-step approach, providing a fresh set of tools to help us kickstart our critical thinking skills and enable us to find solutions to some of our most intractable problems. Herman explains the artist's use of the creative process and teaches us how to analyze paintings, sculpture, mixed media, photography, and contemporary art. By learning how to look at these works more astutely, we hone our powers of perception and discover deep-seated truths about ourselves that often prevent clear-thinking and optimal decision making. Once we recognize our biases, we can overcome them and see solutions we were previously blind to. Herman's approach doesn't take an art degree -- only the willingness to open our eyes and our minds. Things go wrong all the time. Fixed. offers an innovative and proven way to see problems differently -- and craft better solutions for productivity, profit and peace."--Provided by publisher.

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Subjects
Published
New York : Harperwave, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers [2021]
Language
English
Main Author
Amy Herman (author)
Item Description
Author's note listed as xi in table of contents; actual page is unnumbered.
Physical Description
319 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-300) and index.
ISBN
9780063004849
  • Author's Note
  • Introduction
  • Prep
  • Step #1. Clean Your Lenses
  • Step #2. Change Your Shoes
  • Step #3. Define the Project
  • Draft
  • Step #4. Break It into Bite-Sized Pieces
  • Step #5. Recognize Relationships and Red Herrings
  • Step #6. Set a Deadline
  • Step #7. Just Do It
  • Exhibit
  • Step #3. Manage Contradictions
  • Step #9. Repair Mistakes with Gold
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • Credits and Permissions
  • Index
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Art historian Herman (Visual Intelligence) suggests in this accessible survey that people can be better problem-solvers by following the examples of artists. Herman studies the way artists prepare, approach, and complete their works, starting with Théodore Géricault's The Raft of the Medusa, which depicts the aftermath of a shipwreck caused by terrible decision-making. She writes that the painting is the key to the "critical survival skill" that is problem-solving--which is often as simple as nurturing relationships with others and leaning on them when problems arise ("When in doubt, we must default to our humanity"). Herman presents a series of images and follow-up questions to help readers learn their tastes (which can "lead to better self-realization"), and offers a study in perspective intended to help one adopt different "vantage points." Along the way, Herman analyzes various works and their creators--Artemisia Gentileschi (from which the author draws lessons on "shifting... how others people see us"), Ai Weiwei, who dealt with much adversity before triumphing--and provides a wealth of context and art history. Timely and passionate, this candid look at generating solutions will please the creatively inclined. Agent: Susan Ginsburg, Writers House. (Dec.)

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