Janet Rae-Dupree had an insightful article entitled "Teamwork, the True Mother of Invention" in yesterday's New York Times. At one point she writes:
“Innovation today isn’t a sudden break with the past, a brilliant insight that one lone outsider pushes through to save the company,” he says. “Just the opposite: innovation today is a continuous process of small and constant change, and it’s built into the culture of successful companies.”
She later notes that: "researchers have shown repeatedly that individuals working alone generate more ideas than groups acting in concert. Among the problems are these: Throwing in an idea for public consideration generates fear of failure, and workers looking to advance their own interests often keep their best ideas to themselves until a more opportune time.
My take-a-way from the article is that if you want to spur creativity and innovation you may have to unlearn the process of "brainstorming."
