Tag Archives: innovators
Innovation posts of the week: Are you an innovator?
- 7 Game-Changing Customer Trends for 2011 – Fast Company by @exponentialedge
- Innovation in large companies – Forbes via @ralph_ohr
- Importance of Architectural innovation for business model innovation
- Are You An Innovator? The 7 Core Qualities by @matthewemay
- Why innovation makes executives uncomfortable by @ovoinnovation
- 10 business models that rocked 2010 by @nickdemey
- Ten Questions Every Game Changer Must Answer by @practicallyrad
- Finding new problems by @andrewhargadon
Must read innovation stories of the week: A culture of innovation starts with us
Any change we want to see in ANY domain starts with the man in the mirror:
I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change
Guess who said that…
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How To Be An Innovative, Not Just Business, Leader (Forbes)
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How Google sets goals and measures success (Don Dodge)
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A Culture of Innovation Starts with…Us. (Zane Safrit)
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How IBM Uses Social Media to Spur Employee Innovation (Social Media Examiner)
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How to spot – or avoid – innovators (Innovate on Purpose)
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Break the rules to reveal innovation opportunities (Innovation Tools)
An innovator is the one who thinks there’s always a better way
Can you recognize an innovator when you see one? It’s not easy but I’ve always thought that the people who don’t accept the world as it’s presented to them and see better alternatives are innovators, game-changers, creative geniuses, etc.
Innovators have certain characteristics that equip them to find better ways of doing things, Saul Kaplan from Business Innovation Factory wrote up a brilliant post on the 10 ways to recognize and innovator:
1. Innovators always think there is a better way.
2. Innovators know that without passion there can be no innovation.
3. Innovators embrace change to a fault.
4. Innovators have a strong point of view but know that they are missing something.
5. Innovators know that innovation is a team sport.
6. Innovators embrace constraints as opportunities.
7. Innovators celebrate their vulnerability.
8. Innovators openly share their ideas and passions expecting to be challenged.
9. Innovators know that the best ideas are in the gray areas between silos.
10. Innovators know that a good story can change the world.
In what other ways can we identify innovators?
How the Innovators DNA works
What are the personal characteristics of successful innovators?
According to some new research by Jeffrey Dyer, Hal Gregersen which included a six-year study surveying 3,000 creative executives and conducting an additional 500 individual interviews they found five ‘discovery skills’ that distinguish them:
Associating
Most successful innovators tend to be very good at seeing connections between seemingly disparate ideas.
Questioning
The ability to ask “what if”, “why”, and “why not” questions that challenge the status quo and open up the bigger picture.
Observation
Attention to details, most notably in other people’s behavior.
Experiment
Always try new things by constantly exploring new worlds.
Networking
Ability to talk and learn from people they have nothing in common with.
Let’s call this the innovators code.
