Published: August 22, 2011
We tend to think of the moment of insight and creativity in sudden and shocking terms: the bathtub overflowing (Archimedes), the apple beaning off the head (Newton), the bolt of lightning shivering the key at the end of a kite (Franklin). In the common imagination, ideas come full-formed in a flash of brilliance, raining down like manna from some deity of inspiration. Teaching people how to be creative, on the other hand, is like teaching them how to be tall—that is, impossible.
These days, as global competition intensifies, it's more important than ever that companies figure out how to innovate if they are going to maintain their edge, or maintain their existence at all.
"For the University as well as for the economy and our nation, the importance of innovation cannot be overstated," Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust opined at the recent announcement of theHarvard Innovation Lab. Upon his appointment last year, Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria named innovation, along with globalization and business ethics, as one of the most important focuses of the School for the twenty-first century.
With that imperative, it's not surprising that Harvard Business School faculty across a wide spectrum of disciplines including business history, entrepreneurship, finance, and organizational behavior have made creativity and innovation primary subjects of focus. What is surprising is just how teachable they have found innovation to be. On every level—from the individual to the company to the economy as a whole—creativity is something that can be created and fostered if you have the right guidance and incentives.
Think of the following insights and techniques, gleaned from the research of six HBS professors, as the key sent aloft in the lightning storm, or the apple tree placed in anticipation of a beaning. Or better yet, think of your own brilliant analogy. Inspiration below. Click here to read the full article
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