from the book Creative People Must Be Stopped: 6 Ways We Kill Innovation (Without Even Trying) , by Pr. David Owens, Vanderbilt University
While most organizations give lip service to promoting innovation and creative ideas, they all too often sabotage "outside-the-box" thinking among the rank and file. In this book, David Owens has identified the six dominant types of constraints (individual, group, organizational, industry-wide, societal, and technological) that can keep creative new ideas from being formulated, developed into marketable products and services, or adopted by the intended users. Creative People Must Be Stopped organizes these innovation killers into a conceptual framework that demystifies what innovationis, how it happens, and how we stop it without even trying. This proven framework has been usedto diagnose the primary causesof innovation failure within hundreds of organizations that have gone onto develop strategies that foster innovation rather than stopping it in its tracks.
Filled with illustrative examples from real-world organizations, the book explores each type of constraint in detail and shows how it operates and why. This analysis is followed by a discussion of ways that particular constraints can be overcome. Every chapter concludes with a "Constraints Diagnostic Survey." These asessments are based on Owens's research and consulting work, and they provide a pointer to the most urgent and potentially limiting constraints an organization may be facing. In addition, Creative People Must Be Stopped contains an exercise tool designed to help move leaders toward action to overcome the constraints that have been identified. Owens also explores the big-picture issues that can arise when spearheading an innovation team and discusses the steps needed to help organizations become more strategic about innovation.
Creative People Must Be Stopped gives leaders the tools they need to foster an atmosphere of creativity and innovation.