Where's the discipline?

If you're teaching creativity and teamwork by having executives build paper planes and go on rafting trips, there's something wrong with your organization, argues Curtis Carlson, CEO of SRI, the firm that developed the computer mouse. Curtis has recently co-authored a book entitled Innovation: The Five Discipline of Creating What Your Customers Want.

According to the authors, the five disciplines involve being able to:

1. Pick important, not merely interesting, problems.

2. Assess each innovation for its value to customers. Master a value proposition (and be able to articulate it).

3. Appoint an insanely commited project champion.

4. Build effective teams.

5. Build the team across the organization.

This book focuses more on product development rather than the efficiency side of things. You can listen to a Time podcast about the book.

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