I am a writer, teamworker, and idea woman interested in design, creativity, and innovation. I work as an Assistant Professor (or in UK -speak, a “Lecturer”) in the Department of Management at the London School of Economics, where I teach masters and executive courses on Organizational Behavior, Organizational Change, and Negotiations. I earned my Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley after working in advertising and marketing for several years. I grew up acting in the theatre and remain strongly involved in the arts. I love computers and design and writing, which are some of the driving forces behind my academic and professional work.
My research focuses on the management of creativity, innovation and design. I am most interested in how decisions are made within the creative process, and the paradoxical effects of constraint on the creative process (too much choice and freedom have their downsides!). My recent publications have examined how structured social interactions such as speed-dating can facilitate creative collaboration (“speedstorming“). My study on innovation in the financial industry shed light on how top firms retain their competitive advantage over time by honing a service innovation culture, and was featured in The Economist.
One of the most rewarding parts of my work is doing team facilitation and consulting for entrepreneurial, high-tech and creative firms. One of my specialties is helping creative types succeed in business, and enabling business people to create within constraints. I work with teams and project leaders to define ambiguous problems, rapidly develop solutions, and sell new ideas to stakeholders and clients. I have experience facilitating product innovation teams at several firms including Disney, Panasonic, Wells Fargo, and Cisco, as well as several start-ups. Contact me to discuss your project.
I love teaching of all kinds. I have taught Organizational Change, Organizational Behavior, Leadership, Negotiations, and Applied Innovation to MBAs, executives, masters students, engineers, and designers. I have also guest-lectured courses in design thinking, pitching and presenting, new product development, and open business model innovation.
