5 Essential Skills of Innovators — Lessons from The Innovator's DNA
Innovators are made not born. If we curious enough to learn, we can improve our innovative and creative skills. Adopted from this awesome book here, let's dive into these gems, the five skills of disruptive innovators. The authors—Jeffrey Dyer, Hal Gregersen, and Clayton Christensen—studied successful innovators (25 entrepreneurs, and also surveyed more than 3,000 executives and 500 individuals who had started innovative companies or invented new products) to identify their key traits, so that we can adopt and learn more about it. I'm surprise most of these skills aren't taught in schools.
1# Associating skill
This skill connects unrelated ideas to come up with something new and novel. With this skill innovators come up with unique ideas to solve a problem.
Take a look at "Medici Effect", a proven theory showing that creativity and innovation can be increased through diversity. You can solve a problem in one field with principles derived from a totally different field.
James Dyson, a British inventor, is known for creating the first bagless vacuum cleaner. His innovation came from associating principles from an entirely different industry. By associating the cyclone technology with the vacuum's need for a more efficient mechanism, Dyson developed the Dual Cyclone.
Another case of association skill, applied by Shakira, the musician. She grew up in Colombia, she was exposed to traditional Latin music, but she also embraced Middle Eastern melodies from her Lebanese heritage. By associating these distinct sounds with modern pop and rock elements, Shakira crafted a unique musical style that resonates globally.
To practice associating skill we should build the habit of looking beyond our own industry or area of expertise for inspiration, then try to connect it back to the problem.
2# Questioning skill
Innovators often start by questioning existing beliefs or practices. They love to challenge the status quo with intriguing questions. They ask, “Why do we do it this way?” and “What if we do it differently?”
Michael Dell's idea for founding Dell Computer came from a simple question: "Why does a computer cost five times as much as its parts?" This straightforward inquiry led to a revolutionary business model.
Marc Benioff was once wondered: “Why are we still loading and upgrading software the way we’ve been doing all this time when we can now do it over the internet?”. This fundamental question was led to the birth of Salesforce.com
Instead of bluntly follow your assumption, asking provoking questions like “what if”, “why”, “why not”, “how to”, then bravely follow your curiosity, may lead to the discovery of new creative solutions.
3# Observing skill
Observing is a unique skill. By slowly watch and pay attention to your surroundings, might spark you with insights and opportunities.
Momofuku Ando, a Taiwanese-Japanese entrepreneur, is the inventor of instant noodles (1958). One day, he observed his wife frying tempura, a Japanese dish where food is dipped in batter and deep-fried. This sparked an idea: what if he flash-fried the noodles to remove moisture? This would not only preserve the noodles but also allow them to be rehydrated quickly when hot water was added. Amazing!
The idea for Quicken was born at Scott Cook's kitchen table, where he often watched his wife pay bills. He recognized her deep frustration and immediately saw an opportunity to revolutionize the process with a faster, more efficient solution. Driven by this insight, Cook launched Quicken and established Intuit in 1983. Today, Intuit offers cutting-edge software and online products that revolutionize financial management for individuals and small businesses alike. By addressing his wife's frustration paid off, with Quicken capturing an impressive 50% of the financial software market in its very first year.
There is power in observing and watch it by ourselves. Toyota has this philosophy called ”genchi genbutsu” — meaning “go and see for yourself”. The best practice is to go and see the location or process where the problem exists in order to solve that problem more quickly and efficiently. Direct observation has been a pillar of Toyota Production System.
Observing is not an easy practice. We need to slow down, be present, fully aware, and pay attention. I will write more on this skill in upcoming post.
4# Experimenting
Another important skill to have is the skill of experimenting. You need to be willing to try and test ideas. No surprise lots of breakthrough innovations came out from experiment labs. An organization that foster the culture of experimentation will have more innovations than those who doesn’t. The boldness to actively testing new ideas lead to innovations. That’s why Google encourage their employees to spend 20% of their time on side projects and new ideas.
Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, famously said, "If you double the number of experiments you do per year, you're going to double your inventiveness." The Kindle e-reader began as an experiment and has since transformed Amazon from an online retailer into an innovative electronics manufacturer.
Thomas Edison once said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." This mindset embodies the concept of "experimenting" in innovation — by constantly testing new ideas and iterating on them. Imagine again and again do iteration for ten thousands times.
Experimenting is a skill and also a mindset. Its not just about the process. Each experimentation need to be effective. Focus on learning, not just aim for the success. You need to iterate quickly, and do feedbacks collection on each iteration. Make sure each experiment results in new insights.
5# Networking
To enrich your thinking and ideas, you need to expand your networking as well. Research suggests that the more opportunities you have to connect with different people—and fresh ideas—the more creative and productive you tend to be. Quoted from the article: “people with different backgrounds and skills and ideas bumping into one another, sparking fresh thoughts and collaborative visions.”
Wide networking broaden your perspectives. It is important to connect with diverse people, listening actively, and using these interactions as a way to constantly bring in new ideas and perspectives to fuel innovation. To be innovative you need to devote your time and effort to practice this skill.
Imagine combining observation and questioning skill, the you add associating skill, then you combine them and utilize networking to expand the idea.
Combining these five skills is like a combo that make you an innovative person in whatever you’re doing.
In upcoming writing, I will dig more on some of these skills.
Happy practicing!