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

240 Pages·2006·1.12 MB·English

by  Cynthia Barton Rabe

THE
INNOVATION
K I L L E R
.................15875$ $$FM 03-28-0615:48:37 PS PAGEi
This page intentionally left blank
.................15875$ $$FM 03-28-0615:48:37 PS PAGEii
THE
INNOVATION
K I L L E R
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
HOW WHAT WE KNOW
LIMITS WHAT WE CAN IMAGINE . . .
AND WHAT SMART COMPANIES
ARE DOING ABOUT IT
CYNTHIA BARTON RABE
AMERICAN MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
NewYork•Atlanta•Brussels•Chicago•MexicoCity•SanFrancisco
Shanghai•Tokyo•Toronto•Washington,D.C.
.................15875$ $$FM 03-28-0615:48:38 PS PAGEiii
SpecialdiscountsonbulkquantitiesofAMACOMbooksare
availabletocorporations,professionalassociations,andother
organizations.Fordetails,contactSpecialSalesDepartment,
AMACOM,adivisionofAmericanManagementAssociation,
1601Broadway,NewYork,NY10019.
Tel.:[phone]. Fax:[phone].
WebSite:www.amacombooks.org
Thispublicationisdesignedtoprovideaccurateandauthoritative
informationinregardtothesubjectmattercovered.Itissoldwiththe
understandingthatthepublisherisnotengagedinrenderinglegal,
accounting,orotherprofessionalservice.Iflegaladviceorother
expertassistanceisrequired,theservicesofacompetentprofessional
personshouldbesought.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Rabe,CynthiaBarton.
Theinnovationkiller:howwhatweknowlimitswhatwecanimagine:andwhat
smartcompaniesaredoingaboutit/CynthiaBartonRabe.
p. cm.
Includesindex.
ISBN-10:0-8144-0883-4
ISBN-13:978-0-8144-0883-4
1. Creativeabilityinbusiness. 2. Creativethinking. 3. Problemsolving.
4. Organizationaleffectiveness. I. Title.
HD53.R33 2006
658.4(cid:2)063—dc22
2005037125
(cid:2)2006CynthiaBartonRabe.
Allrightsreserved.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
Thispublicationmaynotbereproduced,
storedinaretrievalsystem,
ortransmittedinwholeorinpart,
inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,
mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,
withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofAMACOM,
adivisionofAmericanManagementAssociation,
1601Broadway,NewYork,NY10019.
Printingnumber
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
.................15875$ $$FM 03-28-0615:48:39 PS PAGEiv
TomyhusbandJimandmydaughterKaty,whomakehome
myfavoriteplacetobe,andtomyparents,Carland
BarbaraBarton,whotaughtmehowtomakemyownluck.
.................15875$ $$FM 03-28-0615:48:39 PS PAGEv
This page intentionally left blank
.................15875$ $$FM 03-28-0615:48:39 PS PAGEvi
C O N T E N T S
•••••••••••••••••••••
Foreword by Dorothy A. Leonard xi
Acknowledgments xix
Introduction: A Crushing Force 1
The Paradox of Expertise 1
An Overview of the Book Structure 6
A Note on Terminology 6
PART I. WHAT’S WEIGHING US DOWN 7
CHAPTER1. OUROWNWORSTENEMY:HOWTHEBURDENOF
9
WHATWEKNOWLIMITSWHATWECANIMAGINE
First Things First: What Exactly Is Innovation? 10
The Attack on Innovative Thinking 13
Innovation Phases and Filters 15
The Ah-Hah! of the Perpetual Novice 17
Two Notes 20
Key Points 21
CHAPTER2. GROUPTHINK:THESTRONGESTFORCEONEARTH:
23
WHYSUSTAINEDINNOVATIONISSODARNEDHARD:PART1
No One Is Immune 24
.................15875$ CNTS 03-28-0615:48:40 PS PAGEvii
But We’re Smarter Than That 32
So What? 38
Key Points 39
CHAPTER3. EXPERTTHINK:GROUPTHINKONSTEROIDS:WHY
41
SUSTAINEDINNOVATIONISSODARNEDHARD:PART2
Expertise: The Pros and the Cons 42
ExpertThink: Expertise Gone Awry 46
Follow the Leader 48
Catch-22 50
The Heavy Cost 52
The Anti-ExpertThinker 55
Key Points 56
PART II. ZERO-GRAVITY THINKERS 59
CHAPTER4. TIMETRAVELTOSEETHENAKEDEMPEROR:THEBENEFIT
61
OFPSYCHOLOGICALDISTANCE
Psychological Distance: Groupthink’s Nemesis 66
The Perils of Being an Insider and an Outsider at the Same
Time 67
The Challenge of the Permanent Balancing Act 71
Key Points 73
CHAPTER5. JUSTCURIOUS:THEBENEFITOFRENAISSANCE
75
TENDENCIES
A Real-Life Study in Contrast 78
Unexpected Associations 80
Measuring Renaissance Tendencies 82
Key Points 86
TS CHAPTER6. SMARTABOUTSOMETHINGELSE:THEBENEFITOF
N
TE RELATEDEXPERTISE 87
N
O Naivete´ 88
C
•
viii
•
.................15875$ CNTS 03-28-0615:48:40 PS PAGEviii
•
ix
Funny Math: Two (cid:3) Two (cid:4) Five 90
•
A Potential Intersection Point 91
C
Gaining Steam 99 O
N
It’s All Relative 101 TE
N
Key Points 102 TS
PART III. DEFYING GRAVITY 103
CHAPTER7. THECOLLABORATOR:WHATDOESAZERO-GRAVITY
105
THINKERACTUALLYDO?
Outside Roles 106
Zero-Gravity Informers and Doers 108
The Underutilized Role 115
Being Intuitive 125
Key Points 128
CHAPTER8. WHENANDWHERE...WHENDOYOUNEEDA
129
COLLABORATORANDWHEREDOYOUFINDONE?
When Do You Need a Collaborator? 129
Where Do You Find a Collaborator? 134
A Final Word 141
Key Points 142
CHAPTER9. HOWTOWORKWITHAZERO-GRAVITYTHINKER:
143
ELEVENQUESTIONSANDANSWERS
Key Points 156
CHAPTER10. DO-IT-YOURSELFWEIGHTLESSTHINKING:LOSINGTHE
157
WEIGHTOFEXPERTISEONYOUROWN
Practice One: Look at the Challenge as if You Are Someone
Else . . . And Then Someone Else . . . And Then
Someone Else 158
.................15875$ CNTS 03-28-0615:48:41 PS PAGEix