Line-up
Keith Sawyer
Keynote Speaker
Author of Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration.
Studio
Session info
His session will be based on his book GROUP GENIUS, written for a broad audience, draws on his research on jazz and improv theater to show the reader how to be more creative in collaborative group settings and how to change organizations for the better.
He will tell some compelling stories about the inventions that change our world: the ATM, the mountainbike, and open source operating systems among others.
In each case, Sawyer shows the true story of innovation: in spite of the “lone genius” myths that always spring up after an invention’s success, these important inventions always originate in collaboration.
The empowering message is that all of us have the potential to be more creative; we just need to learn the secrets of group genius.
Follow Keith Sawyer
About
Dr. R. Keith Sawyer, a professor of psychology, education, and business at Washington University in St. Louis, is one of the world’s leading scientific experts on creativity, collaboration, and learning.
Dr. Sawyer combines his scientific expertise with a strong hands-on background in real-world creativity. After receiving his computer science degree from MIT in 1982, he began his career with a two-year stint designing videogames for Atari. His titles included Food Fight, Neon, and Magician. From 1984 to 1990, he was a principal at Kenan Systems Corporation, where he worked as a management consultant on innovative technologies. His clients included Citicorp, AT&T, and U.S. West. Since receiving his Ph.D. in 1994, he has dedicated his career to research on collaboration and group creativity. He has been a jazz pianist for over 20 years, and spent several years playing piano with Chicago improv theater groups.
