How What We Know Limits What We Can Imagine -- and What Smart Companies Are Doing About It
Overview
For true innovation, you may need to think outside the box -- and
outside the company.
"""Knowledge is good,"" preaches the inscription under the statue of
college founder Emil Faber in the film Animal House. But as valid as
that declamation may be at a university, in the corporate world what
passes for knowledge can be a killer.
Companies and teams rely on ""what we know"" and ""the way we do things
here"" to speed decision making and maintain a sense of order. But
progress demands change, risk taking, and occasionally, revolution.
Processes must be overhauled, assumptions challenged, taboos broken.
But how do you do it? Who among the group will take responsibility for a
brand new initiative or unorthodox decision? Who will be willing to
stand up and say, in essence, that the emperor has no clothes? As much
as we laud the concept of ""thinking outside of the box,"" most of us
think it's a lot safer to stay inside.
It's time to call in a ""zero-gravity thinker"" who is not weighed down
by the twin innovation killers -- GroupThink and its close cousin,
ExpertThink. Such outsiders are in plentiful supply, whether from the
department down the hall, the branch office, a consulting firm or even
another company. Unburdened by all the nagging issues that plague even
very effective groups, the outsider will know new ways around a problem,
identify possibilities where none seemed to exist, and spot potential
problems before they spin out of control.
According to The Innovation Killer, the right zero gravity thinker will
ideally possess the following traits:
Psychological distance: the most important tool of the impartial
observer, it enables him or her to maintain an open mind.
Renaissance tendencies: a wide range of interests, experiences, and
influences more readily inspires innovative approaches.
Related expertise: strength in a relevant area may lead to
""intersection points"" at which solutions are often found.
The book helps identify when and why you should call in a collaborator,
where to find one, and how you and your team can start working with him
or her. There are also strategies for turning yourself into a
zero-gravity thinker when it's simply not practical to bring in a true
outsider.
Knowledge is good, except when it trumps real innovation. Whether your
team is too focused on the forest or can't see past the trees, this book
will help you add the perspective you need to make the great decisions
that will move your company forward."
About the Author
Cynthia Barton Rabe was an Innovation Strategist for Intel Corporation
until early 2006 when she founded Zero-G, LLC, an innovation and
insight-stimulation firm. She has 20 years of experience in senior
business and marketing management roles for consumer product and
technology companies including Intel, Ralston Purina Company, and
Eveready Battery Company. She has held a number of positions in
marketing and new business creation, including Director of Consumer
Marketing for Intel's first consumer home networking product. She also
served as an advisor to Intel "Intrepreneurs" within Intel's internal
investment group. Her early business management skills were learned at
the Ralston Purina Company, where she was a member of several consumer
product management teams, including the Eveready Battery team that
introduced the "Energizer Bunny" advertising campaign.
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Table of Contents
"Foreword by Dorothy A. Leonard
Acknowledgments
Introduction: A Crushing Force
The Paradox of Expertise
An Overview of the Book Structure
A Note on Terminology
Part I What's Weighing Us Down
Chapter 1 Our Own Worst Enemy: How the Burden of What We Know Limits
What We Can Imagine
First Things First: What Exactly Is Innovation?
The Attack on Innovative Thinking
Innovation Phases and Filters
The Ah-Hah! of the Perpetual Novice
Two Notes
Chapter 2 Groupthink: The Strongest Force on Earth: Why Sustained
Innovation Is So Darned Hard: Part 1
No One is Immune
But We're Smarter Than That
So What?
Chapter 3 ExpertThink: Groupthink on Steroids: Why Sustained Innovation
Is So Darned Hard: Part 2
Expertise: The Pros and the Cons
ExpertThink: Expertise Gone Awry
Follow the Leader
Catch 22
The Heavy Cost
The Anti-Expert Thinker
Part II Zero-Gravity Thinkers
Chapter 4 Time Travel to See the Naked Emperor: The Benefit of
Psychological Distance
The Emperor's New Clothes
Psychological Distance: Groupthink's Nemesis
The Perils of Being an Insider and an Outsider at the Same Time
The Challenge of the Permanent Balancing Act
Chapter 5 Just Curious: The Benefit of Renaissance Tendencies
Impelled by Curiosity
A Real Life Study in Contrast
Unexpected Associations
Measuring Renaissance Tendencies
Chapter 6 Smart About Something Else: The Benefit of Related Expertise
Naivete
Funny Math: Two + Two = Five
A Potential Intersection Point
Gaining Steam
It's All Relative
Part III Defying Gravity
Chapter 7 The Collaborator: What Does a Zero-Gravity Thinker Actually
Do?
Outside Roles
Zero-Gravity Informers and Doers
The Underutilized Role
Being Intuitive
Chapter 8 When and Where: When Do You Need One and Where Do You Find
One?
When Do You Need a Collaborator?
Where Do You Find a Collaborator?
A Final Word
Chapter 9 How to Work with a Zero-Gravity Thinker: Eleven Questions and
Answers
Chapter 10: Do-It-Yourself Weightless Thinking: Losing the Weight of
Expertise on Your Own
Practice One: Look at the Challenge as if You Are Someone Else
Practice Two: Train Yourself to Look for Weird Combinations
Practice Three: Change the Way You Think About Thinking
Practice Four: Spend Quality Time Defining the Problem Before Trying
to Solve It
Practice Five: Understand What Constrains Your Thinking
Practice Six: Nurture the Zero-Gravity Thinker Within
Chapter 11: The Courage to Go Where No One Has Gone Before: The Role of
the Leader
Hittin' Out of the Park
Mixed Messages
A Culture of Courage
Staged Approach to Innovation-Stimulation
Making Our Own Luck
Appendix A Related Expertise Grid
Appendix B A Leader's Guide
Notes
Index"
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