Index

A

Ad(d) Game, brainstorming and, 18–19, 28

Advocat, 69

anesthesia, innovation and, 60

Ansari, Daniel, 39

anxiety, due to criticism, 17. See also discomfort; stress

Apollo 13 lunar mission, 62–63

Avon, 59

B

Berkowitz, Aaron, 39

body language

in brainstorming sessions, 17

in law firm case study, 9

boundaries, benefits to creativity, 61–66

brain science, change management and, 78–81

brainstorming

criticism as detrimental to, 17

embracing lull and, 19–22

ridiculous ideas and, 18–19

strengths and pitfalls of, 16–17

breathing, to control stress, 79–80

Brown, Stuart, 35–36

C

Cage, John, 9, 19

call centers, power of small connections and, 77–78

Cardinal Health, in Ohio, 24–25

case studies

embracing the unexpected, and law firm, 9–10

play, and Lightwell, 48–49

preparation, and medical device company, 26–30

upside down thinking, and LWOW, 67–70

change, managing of, 75–85

brain science and, 78–81

with connections and trust, 78–80

value of collaboration, 81–85

Cheshire County Correctional Facility, 56–58

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 38

collaboration

by teams during play, 40–42

strength of, 81–85

commitment, innovation and, 44–48

communication styles

brainstorming case study, 27–30

negative versus positive, in case study, 9–10

connections and trust, managing change and, 78–80

ConPosium, 69–70

conscious and subconscious states, improvisation and, 37–38, 40 See also brain science, change management and

constraints. See boundaries, benefits to creativity

convergent thinking, xvii, 5

CPCP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine, innovation and, 43–44

creativity

boundaries and, 61–66

defined, 5

environments for, 23–26

focus and, 36–40

improvisational training of brain for, xvii–xix

knowledge as barrier to, 43

places for, 48

unexpected and, 1–8

upside down thinking and, 61–64

crises. See change, managing of

criticism, banning from brainstorming sessions, 17

D

denial. See negativity

DeStefano, Michele, 67–70

devil’s advocate, banning from brainstorming session, 17

discomfort

diversity and, 3–4, 10–11

improvisation and, 2–3

lulls in brainstorming and, 22

see also anxiety; stress

distractions, loss of focus and, 38

divergent thinking, xvii, 5

diversity

benefits to innovation, 3–4

managing change and, 77

E

Edison, Thomas, 41

environments

for creativity, 23–26

in prisons, 56–58

“Eureka!” moments, xi, xvi, 2–3, 6

exercises

collaborative brainstorming, 30–31

comfort zones and how we learn, 10–11

story game, 50

upside down thinking, 70–71

F

Fissure Security Limited, 69

focus, importance to creativity, 36–40

Ford, Henry, 42

“fourth wall,” innovation and, 25

Fuse (innovation lab), 24–25

G

Glassdoor website, 4

Govindarajan, Vijay, 6

“granny cloud,” 66

Grant, Adam, 20–21

Gray, David, 62

Group Genius (Sawyer), 41–42

H

Hands Up, Stand Up! game, 78–79

Harman International, 7–8

Harvard Business Review, 57–58, 62

Hoffman, Albert, 60–61

Hole in the Wall Project, 65–66

Holmes, Oliver Wendell Sr., 39

Huggable Hanger, 47

I

“I Have a Dream” speech, of King, 20–21

ideation, brainstorming and, 28

immigration, Advocat and, 69

ImprovEdge, x, 9, 28, 48

improvisation

innovative behavior and, xiii–xviii

misconception about, 2

India, computers for children in, 65–66

Ingels, Bjarke, 19

Ingenious Designs, 47

innovation

defined, 41

improvisational techniques and, xiii–xviii

sources of ideas for, xi, xiv

innovation lab (Fuse), 24–25

internal cohort, change management and, 84

interruptions, consequences of, 21, 38

J

Jackson, Mahalia, 20–21

Japanese proverb, 44

Jobs, Steve, xviii, 41

Jung, Carl, 8

justification, upside down thinking and, 58–61

K

Kerr, Michelle, 48–49

King, Martin Luther Jr., 20–21

knowledge, as barrier to creativity, 43

“Kubla Khan” (Coleridge), 38

L

law firm case study, 9–10

lightbulb, teamwork and invention of, 41

Lightwell case study, 48–49

listening. See focus, importance to creativity

LSD, 60–61

luck, defined, 26

lulls, in brainstorming sessions, 19–22

LWOW (Law Without Walls), in upside down case study, 67–70

M

Managing Tough Conversations workshop, 83–85

Mangano, Joy, 46–47

Martinez, Amanda Rose, 39

McConnell, David H., 59

medical device company, preparation case study, 26–30

Miracle Mop, 46–47

mistakes, embracing the unexpected and, 2–3

Mitra, Sugata, 65–66

multitasking, as enemy of focus, 38–39

N

negativity

in communication, case study of responses to, 9–10

as problem for innovation, xiii–xiv

New Hampshire Department of Corrections, 56–58

nonexperts, value to teams, 42–44

O

observations, managing change and, 80

“oops” moment, embracing the unexpected and, 2–3, 6

open-ended questions

brainstorming and, 28

managing change and, 80–81

Originals/outliers, 20, 64–65

P

pain management, innovation and, 60

Paliwal, Dinesh C., 7–8

Pass the Pen game, 59–60

Pearson, Christine, 57–58

Pentland, Alex, 77–78

personal connections, benefits of, 77–78

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 17

play, 35–50

commitment and, 44–48

focus and, 36–40

Lightwell case study, 48–49

story game exercise, 50

teamwork and, 40–42

value of, 35–36

value of nonexperts to, 42–44

Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul (Brown), 35–36

Porath, Christine, 57–58

positivity, innovation and, xi, xiv–xv, 6, 10, 68

power plant ski slope idea, 19

practice, preparation and, 26

PREcrastinators, 20

preparation, 15–31

brainstorming and, 16–22

collaborative brainstorming exercise, 30–31

environment for creativity and, 23–26

medical device case study, 26–30

practice and, 26

procrastination, outliers and innovation and, 20

psychedelic drug, innovation and, 60–61

Q

questions, asking when managing change, 80–81

R

racial diversity, team performance and, 4

reflections, brainstorming and, 28–29

reverse-innovation, 7–9

Rice University, 43–44

Richardson, Adam, 62

ridiculous ideas, in brainstorming sessions, 18–19

Rock, David, 78

S

Saras (teams), 7–8

Sawyer, Keith, 41–42

Schwartz, Jeffrey, 78

Seed magazine, 39

Singletasking (Zack), 38

Social Physics (Pentland), 77–78

status quo, challenging of. See upside down thinking

story game exercise, 50

stress

controlling with breathing, 79–80

as enemy of focus, 39

see also anxiety; discomfort

Surowiecki, James, 43

suspension of disbelief, play and, 44–45

Suzuki, Shunryu, 43

T

T.A.G. (acronym game) exercise, 70–71

teamwork, value of, 40–42

“telling,” in improv game, 82

tension, creativity and innovation and, 1–8

“third ideas,” 55

Time Dash game, 81–82

Tomlin, Lily, 61

Torrance, E. Paul, 5

trickle-up (reverse) innovation, 7–9

trust, managing change and, 78–80

Tushman, Michael, 75–76

U

Ultimate Challenge, 63–64

unexpected, embracing of, 1–11

diversity and, 3–4

how we learn exercise, 10–11

law firm case study, 9–10

mistakes and, 2–3

tension and creativity, 1–8

up-front work. See preparation

upside down thinking, 55–71

challenge to status quo and, 56–58

computers in India as example of, 64–66

creative constraints and, 61–64

justification and, 58–61

Law without Walls case study, 67–70

T.A.G. exercise, 70–71

V

vacations, creativity and, 48

Van Wickler, Rick, 56–58

Virginia Tech study, 17

W

Watts, Alan W., 36

Wells, Horace, 60

WhiteHatters, 69

“Why not?” mantra, 49

Winfrey, Oprah, 47

Wisdom of Crowds, The (Surowiecki), 43

Wozniak, Steve, 41

Wrigley, William Jr., 60

Y

“Yes, and” principle

brainstorming and, 18, 19, 28–29

embracing the unexpected and, 1, 6, 8, 10

innovation teams and, xv

power of, xiii–xiv

upside down thinking and, 68

Yes! Deck toolkit, x

Z

Zack, Devora, 38

Zeigarnik, Bluma, 21

Zuckerberg, Mark, 47