Collide: When the uneasy fusion of strategy and innovation

The lesser‐known world of corporate creativity had its beginning in 1942, and Alex Osborn (the “O” in the BBDO Advertising Agency) is credited as the founder. Today, driving forces in this world include the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, N.C., the Creative Education Foundation in Buffalo, N.Y., and the European Association for Creativity and Innovation in the Netherlands. Major conferences include the International Conference on Creativity and Innovation, the annual Innovative Thinking Conference, and the Creative Problem Solving Institute. Prominent periodicals include The Journal of Creativity and Innovation Management, published in Manchester, England, and The Journal of Product Innovation Management, published by the PDMA. Pioneers such as Sid Parnes, George Prince, Edward de Bono, Robert Galvin, and Bob Johnston are known and respected within this world. And major universities offer programs and course work in the field: Teresa Amabile at the Harvard Business School is focusing her research on business environments that support high levels of creativity and innovation, and John Kao runs the Managing Innovation executive education program at Stanford University.