We tend to believe that creative work is a lonely endeavor. But, research – not to mention past precedent – suggests otherwise. In fact, one of the single most effective ways to enhance your creativity is to regularly break the cycle of isolation and interact, talk, and share your work with your colleagues and friends. Psychologist Kevin Dunbar studied the workings of four prominent microbiology laboratories for insights into how new theories are developed. What he found was that the majority of creative insights and great discoveries actually occurred during regularly scheduled lab meetings, where individual researchers revealed their latest findings and shared their most difficult setbacks. Dunbar describes how the majority of findings in any research laboratory are failures or at least unexpected results. During these regular meetings, researchers shared their results and also developed analogies trying to describe what might be causing their problem. (Analogies are actually quite common in scientific insight. Consider how Watson and Crick used the double helix or twisted ladder analogy to explain their findings on DNA molecules). Dunbar discovered that as the researchers developed analogies, and as other researchers built on the ideas around those analogies, the solutions to their problems just seemed to develop. Sometimes, a researcher would spend a week vexed by a problem and the solution would seem to present itself in just 10 minutes of discussion with peers. In contrasting the four labs, Dunbar also found that the more diverse the lab team, the easier these breakthroughs occurred. The labs made up of researchers from the same background typically generated the same ideas and stayed stuck with the same problems. He believes the reason is that individuals from the same background often develop and understand similar analogies, but when two individuals from differing fields share, they have to work harder to develop analogies that each party can understand and those "long-range analogies" offer more connections to possible solutions. This research runs counter to many of our impressions of lone creatives or mad scientists striving for years to overcome setbacks and to perfect their work. However, many of the most creative companies have been sharing their problems and building on each other's insights for years. It might even been how they became so creative. Consider two in particular: Google and Method. Google is often praised as one of the "best places to work" and an oft-cited reason is its free meals program, which gives employees a variety of gourmet meals on demand in various locations throughout their Mountain View, California campus. This free food is not just meant to increase employee happiness – it increases creativity as well. Douglas Merrill, the former Chief Information Officer at Google, reveals that one reason behind the free food is that it encourages Googlers to interact with others outside their department and share what they are working on and the problems they've encountered. Google has even designed these eating spaces to encourage discussion among people from unrelated departments. The benefits of these connections are difficult to track, but it is not unreasonable to assume they parallel those experiences at Dunbar's microbiology labs. In some cases, this sharing may not even need to happen face to face. Cleaning products standout Method utilizes a forum they call the wiki wall the same connective end. Wiki walls are floor to ceiling whiteboards that are put up in common areas. Here's former employee Tom Fishburne describing the wiki approach, "Ideas are grouped by project. Everyone [can] add to an idea at any time over the entire course of the project. Pictures and prototypes are added for all to see, comment, and build on. Slow hunches have time to take root." He continues, "Projects are not the result of one Eureka moment at one point in time. They are the cumulative result of hundreds of minor and major Eureka moments throughout a project." These findings imply that getting individuals to regularly connect and share their work, setbacks, and insights can amplify the creativity produced by each. So the next time you get stuck, don't go it alone. Rally your colleagues, or even just a friend, to talk over the problem, and see what happens. -- What Do You Think? Do you have more creative break-throughs in conversation with others?