The Impact of the Apollo Project on Creativity and Innovation Management at Sony: The implications for Project Management

April 12, 2011 marked the 50th anniversary of the first human being— Yuri Gagarin—sent into outer space. This event, as well as the Soviet’s launch of the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik in 1957, had a tremendous impact on the whole world and especially on the United States. Everyone knows the history, but not everyone knows that these events meant the beginning of creativity research and creativity management in the United States and had a tremendous impact on the most epochal projects of the 20th century. This article examines a great project undertaken afterward the Gagarin’s historical flight into space—the Apollo project—and its impact on creativity and innovation management in such an innovative and successful company as Sony. The practical implications for project managers and lessons learned are also discussed.