The Power of Innovation: The Seed Makers Who Don't Pray for Rain

Global warming does not only cause higher temperature that could result in sea-level rise and coastal flooding, but also drive weather in roller coaster fashion – flood and draught. Scientists have been working very hard to stay ahead of the game. Market leaders such as DuPont, Monsanto and Syngenta has come up with drought-tolerant corn, allowing farmers like Lance Russell in Hays, Kan. to grow corn in the areas, which are traditionally considered too dry and hot for corn. The technology could change the economics of farming by reducing the need for irrigation, lowering crop insurance premiums, and boosting land values in water-starved regions. With agriculture accounting for 70% of global freshwater use, "The biggest single issue in farming going forward is...water availability," says Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant…


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Idea Generation: Individual and Group Contemplation

In a wide variety of organizational settings, teams generate a number of possible solutions to a problem, and then select a few for further investigation. Researchers at Wharton examines the effectiveness of two creative problem solving processes for such tasks— one, where the group works together as a team (the team process), and the other where individuals first work alone and then work together (the hybrid process). The effectiveness of the approaches is defined as the quality of the best ideas identified by the group and the theory relates group behavior to four different variables that characterize the creative problem solving process: (1) the average quality of ideas generated, (2) the number of ideas generated, (3) the variance in the quality of ideas generated, and (4) the ability of the group to discern the quality of the ideas. Prior research defines effectiveness as the quality of the average idea, ignoring any differences in variance and in the ability to discern the best ideas. In an experimental set-up, the researchers find that groups employing the hybrid process are able to generate more ideas, to generate better ideas, and to better discern their best ideas compared to teams that rely purely on group work. Moreover, they find that the frequently recommended brainstorming technique of building on each other’s ideas is counter-productive: teams exhibiting such build-up neither create more ideas nor are the ideas that build on previous ideas better…


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What Chief Executive Really Want? Creativity as the Most Important Leadership Competency

A survey from IBM's Institute for Business Value shows that CEOs value one leadership competency above all others. Can you guess what it is? What do chief executive officers really want? The answer bears important consequences for management as well as companies' customers and shareholders. The qualities that a CEO values most in the company team set a standard that affects everything from product development and sales to the long-term success of an enterprise. There is compelling new evidence that CEOs' priorities in this area are changing in important ways. According to a new survey of 1,500 chief executives conducted by IBM's Institute for Business Value (IBM), CEOs identify "creativity" as the most important leadership competency for the successful enterprise of the future…


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