Jamming
Chapter One
The Age of Creativity
The business world is already launched on a new quest. The ancient pursuits—for capital, for raw materials, for process technology—remain eternal. But now business seeks a new advantage—delicate and dangerous, and absolutely vital—the creativity advantage.
Breakfast in the Camillia Cafe in Tokyo's Hotel Okura. Coffee costs $6, an omelet $20 (and this is before the dollar's latest nosedive against the yen). I'm here to speak with a business professor named Hiro Takeuchi. When I tell him I'm writing a book about creativity, his expression turns quizzical. Not a man to blurt out his opinions, Takeuchisan informs me in his own good time that "creativity is not a major issue in Japan." He pauses again, then adds: "No, it's the only issue."
Now we are at the end of a long day of interviews at the Paris headquarters of Renault, where a fighting-weight company is emerging from a state-subsidized bureaucratic blimp and is en route to privatization. I ask Yves Dubriel, project director in charge of compact cars, and champion of the Twingo, Renault's snazzy new automot ... read full excerpt from: Jamming ebook
