Good tools don't aid creation, but bad tools can be an impediment to creation. 

How much more would Dickens have written if he'd had a word processor?

jballo - Hierarchies tend to self justify.  So they create something that requires them, and sit back and say, see, look, what about that. 

Like somebody on the Internet said: People have a strong incentive against solving problems when their job depends on the problem not being solved. 

Or to put it another way: Problems persist when people's jobs depend on solving the problems. Because when the problem is solved, people's jobs go away. 

Everybody agrees the US tax code is too complex. This is a belief that crosses liberal/conservative doctrinal lines. But plenty of lawyers and accountants make a living from knowing that complex tax code, so they work hard to keep it complex. 

Or, for an IT example: Microsoft Windows. If companies deployed software that was less buggy, then IT managers wouldn't have as much work to do. 

@slfisher A bike ride or a walk can also help clear the way to creative thoughts.  Some people also find inspiration sparked by others, in the form of books, music, paintings, or even conversation.

I agree sfisher, the tools are how we apply our creativity, not the source.

As you and Alison point out, the key is to unlock the brain and think differently about the issue and how to solve it.

I really like this train of thought and believe that business, if they thought of technology talent as a source of creativity, might gain a further appreciation of the value.

DHagar

Hierarchies tend to self justify.  So they create something that requires them, and sit back and say, see, look, what about that.  (Kind of like the apologists for Rome in Life of Brian. "The aqueduct?...")

But then, if you really want to get into it, you might ask, do we need every dam?   Right now we are finding new ways to generate hydrogen from sunlight and use it in fuel cells, at a neighborhood level.  

But it is a correct question to ask.  Can a society run itself with out the megalithic design that described the 2oth Century?   Can a 3 tier society, using networks, build everything, not just a few trinkets as described in Chris Anderson's book, Makers, or just abstractions like software.

Tools can help with the process of expressing it to other people, but I'm not sure to what degree they can help with the actual creative aspect of it. To me the best creativity tool is still taking a shower or a drive where I have time to let my mind work. 

Yes, of course. How could I have forgotten open source software?

Successful open source projects require leadership to survive -- consider Linux and Linus. But perhaps only two or three layers of management, as you say. 

It's hard to imagine building a jet engine or dam that way. But many things are hard to imagine until they happen. 

You can add linux (which helped create Android and Chrome) and all of open source software to that list.

I have thought about how with the proper workflow software, a large organization might be able to run with a total of 2 or maybe three levels...and not every role would be fixed.

It would be sort of like Hollywood Star-Agent system.   There would be people who are "talent" and people who "manage".   The people who are Talent perform, create, think, do.   The people who Manage organize, report, strategize and plan.   The Managers go to the software (rather than upper management) and bid for resources with other Managers...kind of like a Talent exchange.   The Talent works to make themselves attractive, popular, skilled...to get chosen for a Team.   

As far as how the software works and who manages it, let's just say it must be open and transparent to all.

One of the things I speculate about during idle moments is how flat organizations can get. Can we achieve organizations with NO leaders -- no CEOs or VPs, just everybody works? 

Organizations as diffuse as Occupy, the Tea Party, and Middle Eastern military insurgencies show that groups can coordinate without a formal table of organization. Could big business follow the same lead?

dcawrey - On one of my first newspaper jobs, my editor would call me over to sit next to him while he edited my stories. It was a great way to learn how to write. Google Docs allows that kind of collaboration over geographic distances.