<DIV><B>Embracing the Counterintuitive Side of Collaboration</B><br><BR>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.<br><BR>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.<br><BR>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:<BR><BR>? Left to their own devices, teams are less creative than individuals<BR>? Providing ?rules” to teams actually increases inventiveness<br>? Striving for <I>quality</I> results in less creativity than striving for <I>quantity</I><BR>? Fluctuating membership enhances a team’s innovation<BR>? Most leaders cannot articulate the four basic rules of brainstorming<BR><BR><BR>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. <I>Creative Conspiracy</I> 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.<BR></DIV>