ILROB 4260 - Managing for Creativity

Spring. 3 credits. Letter grades only (no audit).

B. Lucas.

Creative ideas are widely touted as a source of competitive advantage available to workers and organizations. At the same time, creativity can be difficult to manage in a systematic way and organizations often fall short of their creative goals. This course is about how to manage creativity – both yours and in others. We will review theories of creativity, with a focus on (1) how to generate creative ideas and (2) on how to gain support for (i.e., sell) those ideas. We will discuss theoretical frameworks, case studies, and current examples with the goal of distinguishing between effective and ineffective strategies. You will develop skills related to making and selling ideas that you can implement in your organization, use to further your career, or to build value in any endeavor that runs on good ideas. A note to set expectations: This is a course about how to generate creative ideas and build support for those ideas. This course will not teach you how to start a business or secure VC funding.