Embracing the Counterintuitive Side of Collaboration Think of your to-do list at work. Chances are the most important tasks require you to work with others—and the success of those endeavors depends on the effectiveness of your collaboration. According to management expert Leigh Thompson, collaboration that is conscious, planned, and focused on generating new ideas builds excitement and produces what she calls a “creative conspiracy.” Teams that conspire to organize themselves, motivate one another, and combine their talents to meet creative challenges are the hallmark of the most successful organizations. In this book, Thompson reveals the keys to the kind of collaboration that allows teams to reach their full creative potential and maximize their results. She also reveals a host of surprising findings; for example: • Left to their own devices, teams are less creative than individuals • Providing “rules” to teams actually increases inventiveness • Striving for quality results in less creativity than striving for quantity • Fluctuating membership enhances a team’s innovation • Most leaders cannot articulate the four basic rules of brainstorming Thompson combines broad-ranging research with real-life examples to offer strategies and practices designed to help teams and their leaders capitalize on what actually works when it comes to creative collaboration. Creative Conspiracy challenges managers to adopt an unconventional approach to leading teams that, done right, will lead to the creative success of every team—and every organization.

Identifies the importance of a conscious, planned and shared collaborative environment that promotes teamwork, creativity and enthusiasm, revealing counter-intuitive facts while sharing research-based examples that identify the essential components of an effective team. 15,000 first printing.

A fresh approach to managing organizational change by looking at it as complex, dynamic and messy as opposed to a series of neat, linear stages and processes leading to success. Key to the approach is the idea that change, creativity and innovation all overlap and interconnect rather than being three separate areas of study and that managing the three together is central to organizations having the competitive edge in developing new technologies and techniques, products and services. The book continues to offer practical guidelines as well as a theoretical understanding of change, creativity and innovation. It delivers an equal balance of critical perspectives and sound ideas for organizational change and development and presents the idea that change can be proactive, driven by creativity and innovation. The new edition includes additional change management content including learning, personal change, managing the self, employability, developments in conventional Organizational Development and new emergent forms including appreciative inquiry. Along with a series of rich international case studies, including TNT Australia, Amazon, Leeds Rhinos, Jerusalem Paints, Alpha Pro Pump and KPMG. It is supported by a range of learning and revision aids including reflective exercises, review and discussion questions and hands-on research tasks. All of which help students to reflect on the material covered and provide a source for more open group discussion and debate. A companion website accompanies the book, with additional material including PowerPoint slides for lecturers and video links and access to SAGE journal articles for Students. Suitable for upper-level undergraduates and postgraduate students.

The perfect gift for aspiring leaders: 16 volumes of HBR 20-Minute Manager. This 16-volume, specially priced boxed set makes a perfect gift for aspiring leaders who are short on time but need advice fast, on topics from creating business plans and giving feedback to managing time and presentations. The set includes: Creating Business Plans Delegating Work Difficult Conversations Finance Basics Getting Work Done Giving Effective Feedback Innovative Teams Leading Virtual Teams Managing Projects Managing Time Managing Up Performance Reviews Presentations Running Meetings Running Virtual Meetings Virtual Collaboration. Don't have much time? Get up to speed fast on the most essential business skills with HBR's 20-Minute Manager series. Whether you need a crash course or a brief refresher, each book in the series is a concise, practical primer that will help you brush up on a key management topic. Advice you can quickly read and apply, for ambitious professionals and aspiring executives--from the most trusted source in business. Also available as an ebook.

A collection of controversial essays touches upon an array of issues, from marriage equality and conspiracy theories to animal rights.

Conspiracy theories seem to be proliferating today. Long relegated to a niche existence, conspiracy theories are now pervasive, and older conspiracy theories have been joined by a constant stream of new ones – that the USA carried out the 9/11 attacks itself, that the Ukrainian crisis was orchestrated by NATO, that we are being secretly controlled by a New World Order that keep us docile via chemtrails and vaccinations. Not to mention the moon landing that never happened. But what are conspiracy theories and why do people believe them? Have they always existed or are they something new, a feature of our modern world? In this book Michael Butter provides a clear and comprehensive introduction to the nature and development of conspiracy theories. Contrary to popular belief, he shows that conspiracy theories are less popular and influential today than they were in the past. Up to the 1950s, the Western world regarded conspiracy theories as a legitimate form of knowledge and it was therefore normal to believe in them. It was only after the Second World War that this knowledge was delegitimized, causing conspiracy theories to be banished from public discourse and relegated to subcultures. The recent renaissance of conspiracy theories is linked to internet which gives them wider exposure and contributes to the fragmentation of the public sphere. Conspiracy theories are still stigmatized today in many sections of mainstream culture but are being accepted once again as legitimate knowledge in others. It is the clash between these domains and their different conceptions of truth that is fuelling the current debate over conspiracy theories.

Unleash your team's creativity and build a high-performing team. Don't leave creativity up to the "creatives" in your organization. Fostering creativity within your team can help your organization solve problems, create innovative products, break out into a new market, and even communicate and collaborate more effectively. Innovative Teams shows you how to: Create the right environment for inventive thinking Build a diverse team Generate a wide array of new ideas Manage disagreements Make sure your ideas actually get implemented Don't have much time? Get up to speed fast on the most essential business skills with HBR's 20-Minute Manager series. Whether you need a crash course or a brief refresher, each book in the series is a concise, practical primer that will help you brush up on a key management topic. Advice you can quickly read and apply, for ambitious professionals and aspiring executives--from the most trusted source in business.

This book is a fulfillment of the dream of the sage of transcendentalism, Ralph Waldo Emerson and B.F.Skinner to demystify the workings of the human mind, with reference to ability, interest, Talents and creative endowments. It discusses creativity as the central focus in every field of study ,economy and thereby ushers mankind into the emergence of the creative age revolution.

An exciting mixed product of print and downloadalbe resources, this book presents over 200 tips, tools and practical strategies for more effective teaching and learning that can be used in your classroom tomorrow. The emphasis is on exciting, inclusive learning experiences which genuinely engage learners and raise motivation. The book is a follow up to the ground-breaking Creative Teaching and Learning Toolkit which sets out the key principles of effective teaching and learning. Using their pioneering Creative Teaching Framework as a scaffold for the book, award-winning authors Brin Best and Will Thomas guide you through strategies that deal with each component of effective teaching. As well as dealing comprehensively with actual teaching techniques you can use, the authors also tackle the key areas of vision, climate and reflection, showing you how a range of practical approaches can also benefit your learners. A special section deals with things you can do on a personal and professional level to improve your teaching skills too. All the strategies included in the book are highly practical and represent tried and tested approaches from successful classrooms. Each is presented concisely, showing how you can embed the learning activities into your day to day lessons. Special emphasis is placed on creative ways of producing successful learning outcomes for students of all abilities. This resource book presents a rich compendium of teaching and learning strategies that can be used by teachers of all subjects. It will help you to become more creative in your teaching and for learners to be more creative in their approaches. It will widen your repertoire of teaching approaches, to the benefit of all your learners. Whether you are a teacher early in your career looking to gain new skills, or an experienced practitioner wishing to expand your toolkit and freshen up your teaching, then the Creative Teaching and Learning Resource Book has something for you.

"If you have faith as small as a mustard seed," Jesus says in the Gospel of Matthew, "nothing will be impossible for you." That sounds good, but does it work in a world where seeds are genetically altered by an impatient few and hard to come by for countless others? In a world where the gulf between the very rich and the profoundly poor is constantly growing, can a mustard-seed faith make any difference? And can such a little bit of faith be sustained in a world whose future is so uncertain on so many fronts? Tom Sine says yes, and he has the audacity to try to prove it in his latest book. In The New Conspirators Tom surveys the landscape of creative Christianity, where streams of renewal are flowing freely from diverse sources: The emerging church Contemporary monastic movements The missional church The mosaic movement Individuals and communities of faith are coalescing in, and drawing energy from, these four streams to retrofit the church as it leads, serves and gives witness to the kingdom of God in the turbulent times facing us. Read the book and you'll want to-and be prepared to-join God's conspiracy to create a better future.