The Innovation Killer: How What We Know Limits What We Can Imagine ? and What Smart Companies Are Doing about It

For true innovation, you may need to think outside the box?or even outside the company. Outsiders can help defeat the kind of thinking that can overcome teams and kill true innovation. The author reveals how to find and work with the right people and shows, through fascinating real-world examples, the huge difference they can make.

"""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."

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.

"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"