Chapter 6:
Creative Collaboration

“So, why collaborate now? Because we no longer have much of a choice. The trends are painfully apparent. On one hand, problems, opportunities, and the environments in which they appear are becoming more complex. On the other hand, to survive this explosion of complexity, people cultivate specialties... Why collaborate now? Not only because we don’t really have a choice—but because it’s the best choice we’ve got.”

Michael Schrage, pp. 4-5

Despite the insidious myths about the lone innovator and inventor, most innovations move forward because of teams of people. Cross-functional teams push inventions out the corporate door into the marketplace. Groups of researchers combine their findings into viable designs. Customers and product developers team up to create better, more useful products. Even Michelangelo had 13 artists working for him on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Though an interesting idea may emerge in a eureka moment from an innovator, groups typically introduce it into the marketplace.