Toward a Smarter Workforce

Abstract

AbstractMarkman finds that companies can nurture innovation by better understanding and employing cognitive science. Leaders should maximize the quality of knowledge, stop multitasking, find the essence of problems, nurture expert generalists, and distinguish between group problem solving and brainstorming. He relates how unorthodox thinking led to the development of Velcro, the Dyson bagless vacuum cleaner, and Speedo's “ultrafast swimsuit” inspired by the skin of the shark. “The more you understand about your mind and the minds of your employees,” Markman writes, “the better able you will be to develop a more innovative workforce.”