Innovator's DNA

DNAInnovator’s

The authors

Brigham Young University

Jeff Dyer

MIT Leadership Center

Hal Gregersen

Harvard Business School

Clayton Christensen

Technology commercialization managerExploit Technologies Pte Ltd (ETPL)Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR, Singapore)

B. Eng & Ph.d (Engineering)Nanyang Technological University Singapore

M.B.A.INSEADFontainebleau, France

Presentation by

LI Wei

The ability to innovate is not merely a function of the

but also a function of

General intelligence is basically a genetic endowment

(at least the way scientists measure it)

IQ

CreativityIQ

is NOT

Successful innovators learn to be more creative by focusing their time and efforts in the

Necessary skills

5Innovator’s

5Innovator’s

.. That compose the DNA of innovators

5Innovator’s

Associating Questioning

observing Networking

experimenting

Albert Einstein called this process

“Combinatorial Play”

innovators connect different ideas or practices fromvarious

disciplines or cultures

It is a habit of thinkingwhich can be built through training, travel and exposure

Innovators always challenge conventional wisdom by asking ?WHY

and the follow up question ?WHYNOT

We need to practice consciously

It helps us to look for unnoticed clues, patterns, and different perspectives

Innovators examineeverything and identify thecommonality

in seemingly unconnected events

Pay attention to how things work

how people behave

how a decision is made

Your skill of observation can be strengthened by changingyour perspectives

documenting the reasons of

Failed innovations

Networking is important for many people’s

career development

for networking Different ReasonsHowever, Innovators have

By meeting people different from them, they build a bridge to a different field

They network to acquire new information

borrow ideas from

different disciplines

to experiment their ideas Entire World

Innovators use the

Seeking new experience in different domains

Breakingthings up to improve them

buildingto test new ideas Prototypes

innovators don’t design the experiment for a specific outcome

they pursue its outcomes to see what they can learn with an open-ended testing

Can a company shape their ability to be more innovative

3P framework that Shapes an innovative organization

1

Innovative companies are almost always led byinnovative leaders

They provide a modelof discovery skills

and attract like-minded people

They know …

what skills they lack

what they are good at

And, always form teams with “complementary discovery skills”

2

Innovative organizations develop discovery skills systematically and follow the discovery processes

This often begins with the

TOP executivesin the company

they extend the discovery processes to an institutional level

By …

Rotating their employees’ positions

organizing innovation contests with outside people

Sponsoringexperiments of new ideas

3

forward-looking firms understand the

“Smart Risks” and invest heavily in disruptive innovation

They believe innovation iseveryone’s job

And, communicate the importance of innovation to everyone by

People are encouraged to experiment and given

to explore new ideas “Protected time”

Summary

5Innovator’s

Associating Questioning

observing Networking

experimenting

3P Framework

Creativity is a learned skill

Start today by Practicing your discovery skills

and Shaping your business to be more innovative

www.innodiary.org

Photo Credits: http://www.innodiary.org/#!photo-credits/qdikm