We need imagination now more than ever—to find new opportunities, rethink our businesses, and discover paths to growth. Yet too many companies have lost their ability to imagine. What is this mysterious capacity? How does imagination work? And how can organizations keep it alive and harness it in a systematic way?
The Imagination Machine answers these questions and more. Drawing on the experience and insights of CEOs across several industries, as well as lessons from neuroscience, computer science, psychology, and philosophy, Martin Reeves of Boston Consulting Group's Henderson Institute and Jack Fuller, an expert in neuroscience, provide a fascinating look into the mechanics of imagination and lay out a process for creating ideas and bringing them to life:
The Seduction: How to open yourself up to surprises
The Idea: How to generate new ideas
The Collision: How to rethink your idea based on real-world feedback
The Epidemic: How to spread an evolving idea to others
The New Ordinary: How to turn your novel idea into an accepted reality
The Encore: How to repeat the process—again and again.
Imagination is one of the least understood but most crucial ingredients of success. It's what makes the difference between an incremental change and the kinds of pivots and paradigm shifts that are essential to transformation—especially during a crisis.
The Imagination Machine is the guide you need to demystify and operationalize this powerful human capacity, to inject new life into your company, and to head into unknown territory with the right tools at your disposal.
Martin Reeves is a managing director and senior partner in BCG’s San Francisco office, and the Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute (BHI), BCG’s vehicle for exploring ideas from beyond the world of business, which have implications for business strategy management. Martin’s latest book, The Imagination Machine (HBR Press, 2021 June) explores how to systematically harness imagination to generate new ideas and transform your business. He is editor of the “Inspiring the Next Game” book series, a set of perspectives on emerging themes in business published in partnership between De Gruyter and the BCG Henderson Institute: · Sustainable Business Model Innovation (2023) · The Rise of AI-Powered Companies (2022) · Business Ecosystems (2022) · New Leadership Imperatives (2022) . Dynamics Business Strategy (2021) · The Resilient Enterprise (2021) · Winning the ’20s (2021) · Mastering the Science of Organizational Change (2021) Martin is also the co-author of Your Strategy Needs a Strategy (HBR Press, 2015) and host of the Thinkers & Ideas podcast, where he interviews leading thinkers about influential ideas on business, technology, economics, and science. He is a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, Fortune, and other management journals on business strategy and management. Martin holds a triple first-class MA in natural sciences from Cambridge University and an MBA from Cranfield School of Management. To learn more about Martin’s latest research visit The BCG Henderson Institute's website, subscribe to BHI’s newsletter or connect with him on social media.
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