Why do so many novelists, film directors, and first-time inventors often have a hard time replicating their early success? In his NGO Academy Online Keynote from 18 October 2023, Markus Baer presented some new findings that shed light on the conditions that give rise to the phenomenon that has become known as the “one-hit wonder” and the psychology behind it. Moreover, he offered insights into what each of us can do to ensure that we sustain our creativity — both in our personal and professional lives. Here you can (re-)watch his talk including the slides he used.

Markus Baer, Ph.D. is an award-winning scholar and teacher and a thought leader in the field of creativity. Currently, he is Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis where he also serves as Vice Dean of Executive Education. He earned his M.A. in Psychology from the Justus-Liebig-University in Giessen, Germany and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He studies innovation and all its related activities—problem formulation, idea generation, solution selection, and idea implementation. His research has been published in leading management journals and newspaper outlets around the world. He is an acclaimed teacher and has received accolades for his teaching from the Olin Business School, where he won consecutive teaching awards, and internationally as one of the world’s top 40 business professors under 40. He has taught a world-wide audience of students and executives.