Gavin Barton

Dorothy Leonard-Barton

Walter C. Swap

"Addressing the critical issue of knowledge transfer within an organization, this book offers practical advice on how to structure the transition of documented information and the even more valuable non-documented knowledge that outgoing staffers have-before it leaves with them. Whether a result of a retirement, an acquisition, promotions, transfers, or layoffs-all organizations have lost what these authors call "deep smarts" when workers leave. Now, Dorothy Leonard and Walter Swap, coauthors of the popular Deep Smarts, and their coauthor Gavin Barton offer a solution. The trio has constructed a new approach that not only helps organizations put in place the structures and practices to pass along knowledge from expert to successor, but also identifies tacit knowledge-knowledge that is largely undocumented and lives inside of people's heads. Based on theory and research, this book offers a variety of examples, tools, and templates to take action before essential knowledge disappears"--

Tools for Managing Your Company's Deep Smarts

Critical Knowledge Transfer

Argues that knowledge is a renewable asset and a competitive advantage, and shows ways companies can effectively build and manage knowledge

Building and Sustaining the Sources of Innovation

Wellsprings of Knowledge

Harnessing the Power of Group Creativity

When Sparks Fly

Where do the best creative ideas come from? According to the authors, most innovations today spring from well-led groups interactions. This book shows how to generate the group dynamics that lie at the heart of innovative thinking.

How does a leader manage for creativity? Many managers fall into the trap of assuming that only gifted individuals--readily identifiable "creative types"--can produce breakthrough thinking, and if you don't have an eccentric genius on your team, your efforts are doomed to mediocrity. Some even argue that creativity is an art that can't possibly be planned or managed without extinguishing the vital creative spark. Yet, say Dorothy Leonard and Walter Swap, today's most innovative, complex services, products and processes spring from well-led, well-managed group interactions. Blending their backgrounds in business and psychology into a fresh perspective, Leonard and Swap sweep aside conventional thinking about creativity to show how managers can actively shape group processes to enhance creative output. They offer proven strategies based on a deep understanding of human behavior for stimulating and directing the group dynamics that lie at the heart of innovative thinking. The book clearly outlines and analyzes each step in the creative process and gives practical suggestions for managing creative teams, including specific techniques for composing groups to maximize creative abrasion, re-channeling the tensions of conflicting points of view into new ideas and alternative options, and failing forward to success. Leonard and Swap explore how all aspects of the work environment, from leadership style to the promotion of passion to the use of space to maximize serendipity, can enhance innovation. Drawing on examples in companies that range from small startups to Fisher-Price, Intel and Hewlett-Packard, When Sparks Fly shows how sophisticated managers can galvanize groups to maximize their creative potential.

Dorothy Leonard-Barton

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