ASK business people which generates more creative ideas — groups or individuals — and almost all will say "groups", when countless surveys reveal that it is in fact individuals that generate more creative ideas. But this doesn’t mean that groups can’t be a source of ideas, says management professor Leigh Thompson. She uses several surveys to show how by devising rules and sticking to them, and by carefully crafting the make-up of a group, groups can become a source for creative collaboration.Her advice is practical and is applicable to everything from start-up teams trying to come up with new ideas to musicians working together to advertising account executives and creative directors developing pitches.Thompson dispels many of the popular myths — for example, that teams that strive for quality over quantity are more creative, that unstable membership does not enhance creativity, and that teams that have no rules are more creative than those that have them.She also takes on brainstor...
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