On a bright, warm morning at IBM Corp.'s research centre here, seven of Big Blue's scientists gathered around a conference table to consider a non-scientific question: What helps inventors invent things?

IBM brass had asked the researchers to design a class that could teach lab managers how to help inventors stay fresh and innovative. Quickly the group erupted with ideas for the class's title, its methods, even whether someone could fail it.

Then a boyish-looking operating system programmer, Michal Ostrowski, wondered aloud if the group had made some false assumptions.

"Is it innovation if everyone can see that it is?" he asked, drawing a few murmurs of agreement. "Innovation is not obvious at the time."

Such scientific soul-searching pervaded IBM's inaugural "Innovation Days," a weeklong stretch in September when the technology giant asked 3,000 researchers at eight labs around the world to take off their goggles and re-examine their jobs.

IBM let The Associated Press observe several events, providing an inside look at a conundrum facing many technology companies: how to keep their researchers creative while also demanding they produce short-term results on targeted projects.

The brainstorming sessions about nurturing creativity were just part of Innovation Days.

Individual labs three in the United States and ones in India, Israel, Switzerland, China and Japan also created their own programs aimed at recharging everyone's batteries. Researchers practised tai chi and yoga together. Others ran in a five-kilometre race or played music...