Group Genius : The Creative Power of Collaboration

In this authoritative and fascinating new book, psychologist Sawyer tears down some of the most popular myths about creativity and erects new principles in their place. A pioneering expert on creativity and innovation shows the power of collaboration for individual organizational creativity. Creativity has long been thought to be an individual gift, best pursued alone; schools, organizations and whole industries are built on this idea. But what if the most common beliefs about how creativity works are wrong? In this authoritative and fascinating new book, Keith Sawyer, a psychologist at Washington University, tears down some of the most popular myths about creativity and erects new principles in their place. He reveals that creativity alone is always collaborative, even when you're alone - that Eureka moment in the bath couldn't have happened if Archimedes hadn't spent so many hours arguing and comparing notes with his fellow mathematicians and philosophers. Sawyer draws on compelling stories of inventions and innovations: the inventors of the ATM, the mountain bike and open source operating systems among others, to demonstrate the freewheeling ways of true innovation. He shares the results of his own acclaimed research on jazz groups, theatre ensembles, and conversation analysis, to show us how to be more creative in collaborative group settings, how to change organizational dynamics for the better, and how to tap into our own reserves of creativity Creativity has long been thought to be an individual gift, best pursued alone; schools, organizations, and whole industries are built on this idea. But what if the most common beliefs about how creativity works are wrong? In this authoritative and fascinating new book, Keith Sawyer, a psychologist at Washington University, tears down some of the most popular myths about creativity and erects new principles in their place. He reveals that creativity is always collaborative-even when youre alone. (That eureka moment in the bathtub couldnt have come to Archimedes if he hadnt spent so many hours arguing and comparing notes with his fellow mathematicians and philosophers.) Sawyer draws on compelling stories of inventions and innovations: the inventors of the ATM, the mountain bike, and open source operating systems, among others, to demonstrate the freewheeling ways of true innovation. He shares the results of his own acclaimed research on jazz groups, theater ensembles, and conversation analysis, to show us how to be more creative in collaborative group settings, how to change organizational dynamics for the better, and how to tap into our own reserves of creativity. "A fascinating account of human experience at its best." — Mihá Csízentmihái, author of Flow Creativity has long been thought to be an individual gift, best pursued alone; schools, organizations, and whole industries are built on this idea. But what if the most common beliefs about how creativity works are wrong? Group Genius tears down some of the most popular myths about creativity, revealing that creativity is always collaborative — even when you're alone. Sharing the results of his own acclaimed research on jazz groups, theater ensembles, and conversation analysis, Keith Sawyer shows us how to be more creative in collaborative group settings, how to change organizational dynamics for the better, and how to tap into our own reserves of creativity. "A fascinating account of human experience at its best." —Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, author of Flow Creativity has long been thought to be an individual gift, best pursued alone; schools, organizations, and whole industries are built on this idea. But what if the most common beliefs about how creativity works are wrong? Group Genius tears down some of the most popular myths about creativity, revealing that creativity is always collaborative—even when you're alone. Sharing the results of his own acclaimed research on jazz groups, theater ensembles, and conversation analysis, Keith Sawyer shows us how to be more creative in collaborative group settings, how to change organizational dynamics for the better, and how to tap into our own reserves of creativity. "Keith Sawyer, a psychologist at Washington University, tears down some of the most popular myths about creativity and erects new principles in their place. He reveals that creativity is always collaborative - even when you're alone. Sawyer's book is filled with compelling stories about the inventions that changed our world: the ATM, the mountain bike, and open source operating systems, among others. In each case, Sawyer shows the true story of innovation: in spite of the "lone genius" myths that always spring up after an invention's success, these important inventions always originate in collaboration."--Jacket The Collaborative Team -- The Power Of Collaboration -- Improvising Innovation -- Group Flow -- From Groupthink To Group Genius -- The Collaborative Mind -- Small Sparks -- Collaboration Over Time -- Conversation And The Mind -- The Collaborative Organization -- Organizing For Improvisation -- The Collaborative Web -- Collaborating With Customers -- Creating The Collaborative Economy. Keith Sawyer. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 229-255) And Index.