Thinking outside the box now means thinking outside the search engine.
A recent study in the journal Memory & Cognition highlights a study from Carnegie Mellon showing that teams with access to search engines during ideation sessions actually produced fewer original ideas.
Why? Because they converged too quickly on the same predictable answers—falling into what’s known as the “fixation effect.”
This insight struck a chord with me. In our book 'Who Killed Creativity?' (Co-authored with Dr Gaia Grant (PhD), we explore how creativity is often stifled not just by fear or failure, but by subtle, everyday habits, like over-reliance on digital tools. When we default to search engines, we risk outsourcing our imagination and narrowing our thinking.
We've seen in our workshops how powerful it can be to step away from the screen and create space for ambiguity, curiosity, and divergent thinking. That’s where real innovation begins.
Here’s a simple shift I recommend:
- Start ideation sessions offline—no devices, just dialogue.
- Encourage raw, unfiltered thinking before refining.
- Use digital tools later to build, not to begin.
If we want to lead creative teams, we need to design environments that protect and provoke original thought. Sometimes, the best way forward is to unplug.
Andrew Grant and Dr. Gaia Grant (PhD) are globally recognized experts in innovation leadership, known for their groundbreaking research and bestselling books, including The Innovation Race and Who Killed Creativity?. Through Tirian (& Sydney University Business School), they have helped Fortune 500 companies and global leaders navigate the complexities of change, offering research-backed tools like the Innovation Climate Indicator (iCLi).
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