Roger van Oech has some good books on breaking existing patterns in your thinking: http://www.creativethink.com/\n\nAlso, if you're looking to invent new products, I highly recommend Kathy Sierra's blog, "Creating Passionate Users" as a source of wisdom: http://headrush.typepad.com/\n\nIn general, the fundamental task of innovation is to look at the world without the assumptions you normally apply, and look at ways that things could be improved that you wouldn't normally think of changing.\n\nGood luck!
What are some ways to be creative?