Inside the Minds of Innovators
We know them all–the visionary entrepreneurs of today such as Steve Jobs of Apple, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Pierre Omidyar and Meg Whitman of Ebay, A.G. Lafley of P & G. How do they guide their innovation teams and how do they make it happen? In an interview conducted by Harvard Business Review, we find out what we learned in school by associating, asking questions (even dumb ones), and experimentation are all valuable to innovation.
Fryer: You conducted a six-year study surveying 3,000 creative executives and conducting an additional 500 individual interviews. During this study you found five “discovery skills” that distinguish them. What are these skills?
Dyer: The first skill is what we call “associating.” It’s a cognitive skill that allows creative people to make connections across seemingly unrelated questions, problems, or ideas. The second skill is questioning — an ability to ask “what if”, “why”, and “why not” questions that challenge the status quo and open up the bigger picture. Continue reading…
