First Friday Book Synopsis

JANUARY 26, 2012

Here is an excerpt from an article written by Jeff Dyer and Hal Gregersen for the Harvard Business Review blog. To read the complete article, check out the wealth of free resources, and sign up for a subscription to HBR email alerts, please click here. * * * In the Economist review of our book, [.].

How To 80

How To Review Blog Article 80

Rapid BI

NOVEMBER 4, 2016

Brainstorming as an approach can be an effective way of generating lots of ideas on a specific issue which can then be filtered and reviewed to determine which idea or approach is the most appropriate. This pages outlines the history and demonstrates how to conduct an effective brainstorming session.

Brainstorming 28

Brainstorming Creativity Innovation Strategy 28

Harvard Business Review

MAY 10, 2017

We once again randomly assigned participants to one of our three task-switching approaches and asked them to generate creative ideas for two different idea generation tasks. In a similar vein, other studies have found that brief breaks during idea generation can increase the variety of ideas generated.

Creativity 15

Creativity Idea Generation Participative Organizational Behavior 15

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 25, 2014

” But no study has proven that brainstorming works well, even though it has been the go-to method for idea generation since 1953. How many times have you been in a brainstorming session this week? Chances are the answer is, “More than I can count.” But there is an alternative.

Brainstorming 19

Brainstorming Idea Generation Video Creativity 19

Harvard Business Review

JULY 27, 2011

Instead, there was a problem with the process that an idea generator had to go through before they stood in front of senior leadership. The idea generator had to show the idea to their line manager. That's not to say that idea generators shouldn't get feedback. And screened. And debated. They should.

Stage-Gate 15

Stage-Gate Venture Capitalist Idea Generation Document 15

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 25, 2015

Harvard Business Review. To fix group idea generation, then, be aware of when you are trying to diverge and when you are trying to converge. Everyone also gets to enhance the ideas generated by their colleagues. Finally, the group gets to work together to build further on the ideas and to evaluate the candidates.

Groupthink 8

Groupthink Process Osborne Idea Generation 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 22, 2013

We've seen companies get bogged down by numbers, reviewing campaigns for weeks without reaching any action-oriented decision. In another example, a Fortune 500 consumer tech company recently overhauled its campaign review process to cut through the clutter.

Marketing 17

Marketing Metrics Agility Budgeting 17

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 1, 2015

Harvard Business Review. Importantly, after each study we asked a separate group of people to rate the creativity of the participants’ ideas. Across the majority of our studies we found that ideas generated while persisting were, on average, rated to be more creative than ideas generated initially.

Creativity 8

Creativity Participative Idea Generation Tactics 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 2, 2017

Differentiate between idea generation sessions and decision-making forums; separate meetings driving long-term strategic thinking from those driving short-term action and accountability. Any tactical issues need to be tabled until Wednesday’s ops review.” “This is our monthly capacity-building session. .

Participative 8

Participative Idea Generation Short-term Rogers 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 18, 2017

They pass their stack of ideas to the person on their right, who builds on them. This passing is done five times, until everyone has had the chance to build on each of the ideas. Afterward, the group can get together to evaluate the ideas generated. There are many variations of techniques like this.

Brainstorming 13

Brainstorming Osborne Team Creativity 13

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

In the Economist review of our book, The Innovator's DNA , the reviewer wondered whether genius-level innovators such as Marc Benioff, Jeff Bezos, and Steve Jobs challenge the idea that working adults can really learn how to think differently and become innovators. We don't think so. Shake it up.

How To 16

How To Innovation Creativity Disruptive Innovation 16

Harvard Business Review

MAY 16, 2017

That can be a big source of frustration, and stop the idea generation your team needs in order to succeed. All too often, your brainstorming sessions are steered by one or two people who dominate the conversation and shut everyone else down. How bad can it get? Increase the size of the group, and the problem only gets worse.

Education 8

Education Execution Team Teamwork 8

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 7, 2013

If you think about this for a minute, you can see a few assumptions about innovation that underlie this contest: The main problem the firm has with innovation is that they don’t have enough ideas. Idea generation is the best place to invest money to improve innovation. Because idea generation is the easy part!

Innovation 9

Innovation Idea Generation CEO Process 9

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 22, 2013

We've seen companies get bogged down by numbers, reviewing campaigns for weeks without reaching any action-oriented decision. In another example, a Fortune 500 consumer tech company recently overhauled its campaign review process to cut through the clutter.

Marketing 10

Marketing Metrics Agility Budgeting 10

Terry Starbucker

AUGUST 8, 2010

Fear is one of the biggest impediments to idea generation. If someone fears that their suggestions will be summarily shot down in nearly every instance, that person will simply stop trying. A leader must be trusted with the ideas and dreams of their teammates, no matter how “off the wall&# they may be.

Leadership 283

Leadership Idea Generation Open-book BHAG 283

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 14, 2011

Again, it has been the finding of the empirically-based studies we reviewed. One such collection of work alone looked at more than 500,000 patents and innovations.).

Altshuller 15

Altshuller TRIZ Innovation Constraint 15

Harvard Business Review

JULY 20, 2018

The seven roles for CIUs are: designing shelter for innovation; supporting best practices and methods; developing skills; supporting business unit initiatives; identifying new market spaces; facilitating ideas generation; and directing seed funding.

Innovation 10

Innovation Incubator Stage-Gate Idea Generation 10

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 11, 2014

The insights that come after incubation are what feel like we’re tapping into the same idea-generating force that powered Newton and Archimedes. The researchers found that the group given a break to work on an unrelated task (the Myers-Briggs test) generated the most ideas, averaging 9.8 ideas generated.

Incubator 12

Incubator How To Creativity Idea Generation 12

Harvard Business Review

JULY 27, 2015

This was the idea-generation phase. For the first 20 minutes of the meeting, reviewers read through the concepts on the wall and write their feedback on the pages (or on sticky notes); then we discuss impressions and perspectives. And anyway, it’s a work in progress.

Document 8

Document Content Software Brainstorming 8

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 24, 2015

From idea generation to problem-solving to delivering results, teamwork is essential to productivity and innovation, and companies need a toolbox of technologies that will allow teams to work together and build relationships. Send Files Securely and Easily.

Real Estate 8

Real Estate Technology Restructuring Competitive Advantage 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 8, 2014

While office time is important, both for formal meetings and for those informal conversations that are so important for idea generation and team camaraderie, the fact is that most knowledge workers could get by with doing something on the order of 30% of their work from home (or other locations) and at non-traditional work times.

Short-term 11

Short-term How To Human Resources Long-term 11

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 5, 2016

Rather than mandating their own vision, as dominant leaders typically do, prestige-oriented leaders instead facilitate the team’s vision by encouraging team members to actively discuss their ideas and by synthesizing their contributions into a coherent strategy. Listening is as important as talking for prestigious leaders.

Leadership Styles 8

Leadership Styles Leadership Peer Review Influence 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 28, 2017

It would therefore make sense for organizations to increase diversity in teams that are focused on exploration or idea generation, and use more-homogeneous teams to curate and implement those ideas.

Diversity 13

Diversity Creativity Analysis Consensus 13

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 8, 2016

Our past research highlights the promise of this trend: In the case of a major baby products firm, for example, the best user-generated ideas identified were even more innovative and provided better benefits to the consumer than the best ideas generated by the firm’s designers.

Marketing 9

Marketing Productivity Products Brand 9

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 10, 2012

That's a topic, not a big idea. Once you've spelled out your big idea, generate lots of supporting material to give yourself more to choose from when it's time to pick your best stuff. But you might say, "It's about why production will keep missing key deadlines unless we upgrade our workflow management software.".

Audience 16

Audience Brainstorming Sharpe Software 16

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

That's the stuff that kills innovation-fueled growth, not a lack of interesting ideas. Rather than rely on more-or-less random idea generation, they have made innovation into a systematic process, with dedicated, trained professionals to do it. So what do companies like Apple and P&G really do?

Supply Chain 13

Supply Chain Strategic Fit Innovation Idea Generation 13

HR Digest

DECEMBER 11, 2023

A part of the employee’s responsibilities could involve idea generation or problem-solving, where employees can be encouraged to find new ways to approach a problem. Through anonymous suggestion boxes, regular HR availability, action against reported incidents, regular reviews of workplace policies , etc.

Groupthink 52

Groupthink Janis How To Training 52

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

While I thought many of the ideas were legitimately interesting, after a few hours of working together, a nagging concern began to creep in: that the team hadn't quite formulated what question it was seeking to answer. It's natural for people pursuing innovation to jump into idea-generation mode.

Power 15

Power Constraint Transportation Price 15

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

A review of nearly 600 studies found that mediation, including mindfulness, enhances creativity with the same effectiveness as psychotherapy interventions improve well-being, and not merely by improving relaxation and mood.

Creativity 8

Creativity Incubator Motivation Innovation 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 10, 2013

Idea generation will improve as people problem-solve together at meals. Changing just one aspect of daily life in an organization can have a powerful effect on innovation. So why not try providing lunch for your employees? Meals build community and networks, writes Tim Kastelle. Employee relationships will change.

Advertising 15

Advertising Idea Generation Innovation Diversity 15

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 2, 2017

The results of these studies were dramatic: groups that followed both sets of rules generated nearly 50 significantly more unique ideas. My colleagues, Elizabeth Ruth Wilson and Brian Lucas, and I decided to explore whether people could also be primed for better brainstorming before the idea generation even starts.

Brainstorming 8

Brainstorming Osborne Creativity Follow-up 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 15, 2011

Think Bloomberg terminal meets Monopoly board: a dynamic marketplace for idea generation and development in which all employees are entrusted with the future direction of the company, asked for their opinions, listened to, and rewarded for successful ideas.

Management 11

Management McKinsey Letter Retail 11

Harvard Business Review

MAY 30, 2012

Companies that fall into this trap think that the best way to solve the innovation problem is to bring in a wide range of right-brained thinkers, put them in a room, and ask them think of awesome ideas.

Innovation 16

Innovation Christensen Definition Idea Generation 16

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 29, 2017

To further verify that creativity is among the early benefits of mindfulness meditation, and to test how earlier findings could be applied to benefit idea generation in organizations, we set up an experiment at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Ten to 12 minutes are enough to boost creativity.

Creativity 15

Creativity Brainstorming Participative Open-book 15

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 29, 2015

Today, many companies are focusing on idea generating activities like innovation challenges. Our findings suggest that it is the individual leader and their ability to lead strategically that is just as critical as the idea.

Strategy 8

Strategy Power Idea Generation Project 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 31, 2017

One of the most promising approaches for understanding patients’ experiences has been design thinking , a creative, human-centered problem-solving approach that leverages empathy, collective idea generation, rapid prototyping, and continuous testing to tackle complex challenges.

Health Care 14

Health Care Transportation Mayo Cost 14

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 6, 2017

These forces not only rob employees of time to concentrate on completing complex tasks or for idea generation, they also crunch the downtime that is necessary for restoration. Here’s how leaders can address them. Excessive collaboration.

Company 15

Company Agility Energy Tools 15