http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/08/05/the_downside_of_diversity/?page=full Summary: Robert Putnam's research found that in more diverse communities, civic health measures like voting, volunteering, charity, and community projects decrease. However, diversity can also drive productivity and innovation due to different ways of thinking among people from different cultures. Diverse teams are often more productive.
http://timkastelle.org/blog/2013/10/best-organisational-structure-creativity/ Summary: The article challenges the myth that creative people are different from others and highlights the organizational structure of the company that invented Gore-Tex, which operates in small teams and has minimal layers of management despite its large size.
http://www.fastcompany.com/3050265/hit-the-ground-running/three-ways-to-reframe-a-problem-to-find-innovative-solution Summary: To find innovative solutions, it is important to approach problems from a fresh perspective. Reframing a problem can help turn it into an opportunity. Three techniques for reframing a problem are offered by Fast Company, including imagination, creativity, and entrepreneurship.
http://weblog.mediatemple.net/tips/how-to-build-a-culture-of-innovation-by-killing-mediocrity-1/ Summary: The article discusses the importance of building a culture of innovation by eliminating mediocrity in order to encourage employees to share ideas and improve. The author highlights the negative effects of complacency, politics, and hierarchy on employee morale and overall productivity. The article suggests that this is a problem not just in enterprises but also in public service.
http://www.fastcompany.com/3025319/work-smart/4-things-we-have-wrong-about-creativity Summary: Fast Company shared a list of four common myths about creativity, including the idea that geniuses produce a lot of bad work before creating something good.
https://hbr.org/2015/12/giving-up-is-the-enemy-of-creativity?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=harvardbiz Summary: Research shows that persistence is often undervalued in generating truly creative ideas, and giving up can hinder creativity.
http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-discipline-of-creativity/ Summary: The article discusses the importance of linking creative ideas to actionable steps. The author proposes an integrative process for idea generation that combines approaches from education, consumer research, business model design, and emergent strategy. The process includes steps for understanding the problem deeply, generating tangible ideas, and translating those ideas into action.
https://www.fastcompany.com/40405480/how-to-train-your-brain-to-be-more-innovative Summary: Innovation involves following a series of steps and possessing certain traits, such as the ability to think abstractly and openness to risk. Almost everyone has these traits, and it's important to seek out experiences to put them to use.
http://io9.com/well-need-science-fiction-to-imagine-the-mind-boggling-1706010832 Summary: The Art of Future Warfare is running a science fiction contest to encourage unconventional and imaginative thinking from writers, artists, and game designers to contribute to the study and professional conduct of diplomacy, defense policy, and military operations. The contest aims to demystify the creative process and value process as much as content. The future of war requires science fiction to imagine the possibilities.
https://qz.com/924167/ibm-remote-work-pioneer-is-calling-thousands-of-employees-back-to-the-office/ Summary: IBM is ending its remote work policy, stating that leaders need to be with small teams in a specific location for innovation to occur. Despite research showing that remote workers are more productive, IBM values innovation over productivity. The changing nature of marketing also requires a rethinking of the workplace.
https://medium.com/@krystacurtis/paint-by-idea-81dcd2f5d34e Summary: Krysta Curtis has written a guide to ideation, which includes a fun activity called "Paint-by-Idea" that can be done over the weekend. This was shared on Medium.
https://medium.com/galleys/brainstorming-does-not-work-6ad7b1448dcf?section=suggested Summary: Brainstorming in groups is not effective, but individuals applying brainstorming techniques get good results. Research shows that the best way to create is to work alone and evaluate solutions as they occur. Having ideas is not the same thing as being creative, as creation is execution, not inspiration.
https://www.npr.org/2018/08/20/640216385/you-2-0-originals Summary: Adam Grant's book "Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World" investigates how people come up with great ideas and what we can do to have more of them. Originals often procrastinate to incubate their ideas and focus more on values than rules. They have broad experiences, question the status quo, and manage fear differently. They also have lots of bad ideas before getting to the good ones. Originality can come from unexpected places, and there is no correlation between being a good talker and having the best ideas. The great have many more ideas than the ordinary, and failure is necessary for success. To get to unusual and innovative ideas, one must weed out the familiar.
https://open.bufferapp.com/creativity-advice/ Summary: The article discusses advice for being creative, particularly Neil Gaiman's advice that ideas come from confluence, which is why I-Labs brings people together from different parts of a company. The article is titled "What I Wish I Knew About Creativity When I Was 20.