The Innovative Team - by Chris Grivas & Gerard Puccio (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Supposedly, our high level of cognition (and strategically placed thumbs) is what set us apart from much of the natural world. But it turns out that while we all think, we do not all think the same way. We all naturally use the universal creative process, for instance, but our preferences within that process make all the difference in forging a workable solution. These preferences have an enormous impact on the ways we go about solving problems and how we work together. This book introduces a uniquely effective set of tools called FourSight, field-tested by top consultants, but never before presented to a mass audience, that can help anyone from professionals to laymen solve problems and achieve performance breakthroughs. FourSight enables teams to understand their patterns of thinking and to then more deliberately manage themselves toward accomplishing a task. In business-fable style, the book reveals the impact that our underlying work style preferences have on our teams and their results. Part 1 travels along on a team's journey from dysfunctional to high functioning. Part 2 reveals the theory behind successful breakthrough teams with a clear introduction to the four stages of the breakthrough thinking process. These stages will help both team members and leaders understand the dynamics present within their team and provide the reader with options for how to improve performance. It will also serve as a great resource for management and leadership development professionals, team leaders, and others interested in kick-starting innovation in their workplaces and lives"--

Book Synopsis

New tools for tapping the creativity of teams and achieving breakthrough results

The Innovative Team is an engaging business fable that reveals the impact our underlying work style preferences have on our teams and their results. The authors present a breakthrough thinking process for developing successful teams. They introduce a uniquely effective set of tools built on FourSight, a measure of problem-solving preferences field-tested by top consultants, which can help anyone from professionals to novices solve problems and achieve performance breakthroughs. FourSight enables teams to understand their patterns of thinking and manage themselves more deliberately toward accomplishing a goal.

• Written as a business fable that recounts the story of a team's journey from dysfunctional to high functioning
• Outlines a new and effective set of tools for enhanced team performance
• Details the four stages of a dynamic breakthrough thinking process

The Innovative Team offers a great resource for management and leadership development professionals, team leaders, and anyone interested in kick-starting innovation in their workplaces and lives.

From the Back Cover

Told through the lens of an engaging business fable, The Innovative Team offers team leaders and team members a proven framework for promoting innovation and creativity within their organization. Based on more than twenty years of solid research and international field testing, The Innovative Team tells the tale of a fictional dysfunctional team that needs to come up with a good idea or get canned by their client. The fascinating narrative introduces a uniquely effective set of tools built on the authors' proven FourSight framework--Clarify the Situation; Generate Ideas; Develop Solutions; Implement Plans.

Using the FourSight approach, team leaders and members can learn how to focus their creative thinking in order to respond to situations that have no easy answers or immediately apparent solutions. It enables teams to understand their unique patterns of thinking and gives them the ability to manage themselves more deliberately toward accomplishing a goal. Implementing this field-tested framework demystifies the process of creativity and innovation so that any team can achieve performance breakthroughs.

The Innovative Team offers a great resource for management and leadership development professionals, team leaders, and anyone interested in kick-starting innovation in their workplaces and in their lives.

About the Author

Chris Grivas is an organizational and leadership development consultant focused on increasing the creative capacity of individuals, teams, and organizations. His clients have included Ernst & Young, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, and New York University, among others.

Gerard J. Puccio is department chair and professor at the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State College and partner in FourSight, a training company and publisher of FourSight: Your Thinking Profile. He is an accomplished writer, speaker, and consultant to Fisher-Price, British Broadcasting Corporation, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kraft, and others.