How to Kill a Team’s Creativity

Diversity, cohesiveness, and autonomy might seem critical to group innovation. But don’t take them too far.

by

and

C. Whan Park

by

and

C. Whan Park

From the Magazine (August 2002)

The story is all too familiar: A team that’s been batting a thousand suddenly strikes out. Consider the hypothetical case of CerealCo. The company secures a foothold in the breakfast foods niche with a plain but profitable line of low-sugar products and a commitment to continuous improvement. Now, senior executives want to duplicate their success in snack foods. Realizing that CerealCo lacks the marketing muscle to squeeze a copycat product into the crowded snack food market, senior management reassembles the cross-functional product development team responsible for its previous brand-extension initiatives. The task: Innovate. Devise a unique snack food that will seize market share by sheer distinctiveness and appeal.

A version of this article appeared in the August 2002 issue of Harvard Business Review.

RS

Rajesh Sethi is an associate professor of marketing at the Clarkson University School of Business in Potsdam, New York.
DS

Daniel C. Smith is the Clare W. Barker Chair and Professor in Marketing at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in Bloomington.
CP

C. Whan Park is the Joseph A. DeBell Professor of Marketing at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business in Los Angeles.

How to Kill a Team’s Creativity

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