Product Description

For true innovation, you may need to think outside the box-and outside the company.

Innovation is vital to the success of an organization. But often, "GroupThink" and "ExpertThink" stifle new ideas. This book presents the idea of using outsiders-people who are not a permanent part of a particular group or constrained by its preconceptions-to stimulate innovation. They may be employees from other parts of the company, consultants, or even people borrowed through "swaps" with other, noncompeting companies. These outsiders share three characteristics:

* related expertise: knowledge without the burden of "the way we've always done it" * renaissance tendencies: varied interests and experiences, with the ability to put ideas together in new and useful combinations * psychological distance: they are not tied to the hierarchy of the group, making it easier to propose unpopular ideas

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #654695 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

Review
..it maybe time to make use of the ideas that Cynthia Barton Rabe proposes in the bestbook of the bunch" -- The New York Times

Review

“... easy to read and understand, and offers an interesting way to combat the barriers to innovation we are familiar with.”

-The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

“This excellent book ranks very high on our scale of mindfulness….A brilliant book... one of the best of the year!”

-The CEO Refresher

Review

"""The Innovation Killer challenges the reader to consider the power of non-expert thinking as a catalyst for innovation. Cindy Rabe's smart approach to disrupting the ‘group thinking’ that stifles creativity and derails innovative solutions is both practical and intriguing. Bright, fun, and startlingly pragmatic -- a great read for any leader who is struggling to move a team or project to a higher-level result.""

-- Nancy Hickey, Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, Steelcase, Inc.

""This book is a very timely reminder that it's often outsiders that drive innovation and change. Radical ideas usually start in the minds of mavericks, outcasts and eccentrics long before they are accepted by the mainstream. Anyone who has the courage and the foresight to invite these people inside their organization will live with neither failure nor regret.""

-- Richard Watson, CEO, Global Innovation Network, and Fast Company Innovation Columnist.

""Innovation for the rest of us. Rabe outlines the path to breakthrough innovation in simple, human terms.""

-- Bob Marchant, President/CEO, Modo, Inc.

""For anyone interested in innovation this book is essential reading because it addresses what others do not, the natural tendency to kill new and different ideas, and provides guidance on what can be done about it.""

-- Peter Lawrence, Chairman, Corporate Design Foundation

""Cindy Rabe courageously describes the elusive ingredients for innovation, a prized asset of business and society. She blends academic discovery, case studies, sage wisdom, and street smarts into a refreshingly helpful resource. This book will serve as a powerful catalyst if organizational leaders are ready to find and embrace innovation.""

-- Ron D. Arp, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Nautilus, Inc."

Customer Reviews

A good book for those commit to innovate!
The author, an innovation and strategy consultant, promoted in this book her concept of bringing in Zero Gravity Thinkers (outsiders with "psychological distance" from the team, "renaissance tendencies" (broad interests and capabilities) and "related expertise") to stimulate innovation by disrupting GroupThink (tendency to make decisions like the people with whom we work most closely) and ExpertThink (tendency to go along with the tried and true methods of experts). Frankly, I like very much her detailed elaboration and good choice of cases (esp the Naked Emperor and the Bluetooth). However, I doubt whether those companies in need of innovation the most could accept this concept and undertake the change. Quote from JC Penny, "The theory is splendid, but until put into practice is it valueless." Anyway, this is a good book for those who commit to innovate. Recommended!

p.s. Below please find some of my favorite quotes in the book for your reference:-

Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs, it is the rule. Friedrich Nietzsche pg 23

Alfred Sloan, who ran GM from 1923 to 1956, was onto something when he said at a meeting, "Gentlemen, I take it that we are all in complete agreement on the decision here. Then I propose that we postpone further discussion...to give ourselves time to develop disagreement and perhaps gain some understanding of what the decision is all about." pg 39

The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress. - C.F. Kettering pg 143

The first and greatest victory is to conquer yourself; to be conquered by yourself is of all things most shameful and vile. - Plato pg 157

How to overcome GroupThink and ExpertThink

Rabe defines innovation as "an application of an idea that results in a valuable improvement." Her definition emphasizes that the ability to think innovatively should be a goal for every function in an organization - not just the new product or technology team. As she correctly observes, there is a process by which ideas become reality in most organizations. "First there is typically a challenge or opportunity to be addressed. Then someone comes up with an idea for addressing it. A stage of development or fine-tuning typically follows (this can be very short or, in the case of some product or technology innovations, very long) in order to apply the idea. The final result? An innovation." One of her most interesting - and most valuable - concepts is of what she calls "Zero-Gravity Thinkers." The title of her book refers to the most common barriers to innovation: practicioners of GroupThink ("the strongest force on earth") and ExpertThink ("GroupThink on steroids"). They establish and then vigorously defend all manner of "filters" to diminish if not "kill" any perceived threats to the status quo. Rabe concedes that Zero-Gravity Thinkers aren't a "magic solution" to such barriers because "there is no cure-all for a stuck-in-the mud organization." However, they are a high-value tool when recognizing and then responding effectively to the aforementioned "filters."

Of special interest to many readers is what Rabe has to say about the leadership required when "going where no one has gone before." She does not limit her attention to leadership at the senior-management level. On the contrary, she convincingly explains why innovation leadership must be present at all levels and throughout all areas of an organization. Moreover, given the well-entrenched and highly-efficient "filters," the nature of the leadership required must itself be innovative. It must take into full account, for example, the perils of challenging traditional chains of authority and channels of communication. This is precisely what Jim O'Toole has in mind when discussing (in Leading Change) what he characterizes as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." The power of GroupThink and ExpertThink must never be under-estimated. When necessary, effective leaders of innovation initiatives are courageous enough to ignore convention and act on their own intuition and rational arguments of those outside the given organization. Also, they are prudent but not risk-adverse. They never state or even imply that innovative thinking is acceptable only without the possibility of failure. What Rabe offers in this volume is a rigorous and thorough examination of who and what can "kill" innovation...and offers practical advice as to how to respond effectively and productively when opposed by them.

Zero-Gravity Thinking
I bought for the idea of zero-gravity thinking. I had seen an article about it, and found it an interesting approach.
Here's the idea: creative companies need to bring in someone who is not a stake-holder to bring richness and creativity to their innovation process.
I kept thinking there was more to it than that. But, really, that's pretty much it.
Seems like pimping for consultants, and a bit self-serving.
Instead, I like the zen idea of "beginner mind" and find the seeking and the application of the discipline of unlearning assumptions and sacred cows a truly meaningful way to develop new and fresh ideas.
This is sort of like that, except she postulates that the person should be from another discipline (or, better, from outside the company.)
It's okay, but not a BIG idea, to me.