The Daily Stat from Harvard Business Review

 

December 22, 2014 To Find Creative Solutions, Stop Thinking About the Problem Among people assigned to design a children's toy, those who were distracted for 3 minutes by a word task went on to produce more-novel results than those who spent the 3 minutes planning their designs. This and other findings suggest that unconscious thought can be more effective than conscious thought in producing innovative ideas, says a team led by Haiyang Yang of Insead Singapore. But if the interval was extended to 5 minutes, the conscious thinkers proved to be more innovative, suggesting that there is a limit to the effectiveness of unconscious thought. SOURCE: Unconscious creativity: When can unconscious thought outperform conscious thought?

BEST SELLERS HBR's 10 Must Reads: The Essentials | HBR's 10 Must Reads Ebook Boxed Set | HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations Ebook + Video Case Study | HBR Guide to Better Business Writing | HBR Guide to Getting the Right Work Done

FEATURED PRODUCT The HBR Guide Collection HBR Ebook Becoming a great manager doesn’t just happen. It takes years of experience and ceaseless hard work. And there’s no easy way to get there. But you can give yourself a big head start with The HBR Guide Collection. From writing more effective e-mails and delivering more persuasive presentations to focusing on what really matters and managing up and across an organization, this collection will help you perfect the eight most critical skills that all great managers need to succeed. The HBR Guide Collection is a digital product, so no shipping fees, no delays: you will have it instantly. Buy Now

FEATURED PRODUCT Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business Transformation HBS Press Book The authors, a trio of highly regarded thought leaders on corporate digital transformation, say changes in the digital realm so far have focused on high tech and media companies – but there’s still a whopping 94% of the business economy that needs to change. This book will show them how. Based on a study of more than 400 large, mainstream firms in every industry around the globe, the authors usefully break down how these organizations have used their own digital transformation to gain strategic, competitive advantage. Readers will learn how these digital leaders have transformed their businesses through smart and rigorous digital investments, and through smart and effective leadership of the change. "Leading Digital" offers practical, real-life tested frameworks that can be instantly applied. Case studies include Nike, Caesars, Burberry, Asian Paints, Pages Jaunes, Codelco, and more. Buy Now

ADVERTISEMENT

HBR.ORG | THE MAGAZINE | TOPICS | BOOKS | CASES | STORE | SUBSCRIBE TO HBR UNSUBSCRIBE | NEWSLETTERS PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT Copyright © 2014 Harvard Business School Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing 60 Harvard Way Boston, MA 02163 CUSTOMER SERVICE: 800-545-7685 (US/Canada) 1-617-783-7600 (outside the U.S. and Canada)