| When Sparks Fly: Igniting
Creativity in Groups
By Dorothy A. Leonard and Walter C. Swap
Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1999, 242 pp.
Reviewed by Jack Harkins
In this primer on creativity, Leonard and Swap deliver a simple
yet compelling message: By using a simple process, creativity for
all types of business endeavors can be encouraged and managed in
any group of reasonably intelligent individuals. The authors' stated
intention is to provide complementary insights from the fields of
social psychology and practical management. And their promise is
to be conversational and brief-to present a book that can be digested
during an average plane flight. (It works! That's exactly what I
did.)
Experienced design managers will find themselves familiar with
these practical insights on creativity, which draw liberally from
the estimable John Kao, Jerry Hirshberg, and IDEO. For non-design
managers and clients, the six-chapter format is a simple and straightforward
presentation of the creative process and will make an excellent
reference guide. I found the social psychology insights and suggestions
to be most relevant to group behavior in the practice of design.
Throughout the book, sidebars highlight a series of formal and
informal research studies relevant to the topics discussed. For
example, the authors explore the area of diversity in groups. They
make a strong case that diversity of culture or age, for instance,
is not nearly as significant to creativity as intellectual diversity.
One sidebar emphasizes the point by saying, "The experimental
evidence strongly suggests that people prefer to associate, interact,
and work with those who are similar to them," but then goes
on to explore the importance of intellectual diversity and how to
achieve it. It's an important message; forming a truly diverse group
is a rich and challenging opportunity for any leader.
I felt the authors saved their freshest and best insights for the
last chapter, "Designing the Psychological Environment."
It rings true to my personal experience that great individual creativity
can be squelched by circumstance and poor environment, while seemingly
mediocre talent can accomplish great feats when adroitly motivated
and managed. Leonard and Swap also cover issues such as risk and
safety, communications and honesty, and intrinsic rewards in an
insightful, useful, and ultimately inspirational way.
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