Leading for Innovation: And Organizing for Results

14.1. Designing a Group for Creativity

Popular advice for managers who wish to think out of the box, create new paradigms—choose your cliché—is to assign people to the problem who know nothing about prior attempts, "because they won't know it can't be done." There is a certain logic to this advice. Our thinking is often constrained by rigid assumptions, lack of vision, or timid aspirations. However, the mix of hindsight and foresight represents one type of intellectual diversity that can aid the creative process. The collision of ideas that arises from blending varied perspectives can lead to the consideration of more options—and then better decisions. These varied perspectives may come from different know-what (from experience or education), ...