Regardless of whether innovators are born or made, many of them have traits that push their innovation abilities:
Curiosity. Innovators and creators are curious about their world. They look below the surface of life. They do not ignore gaps in their own knowledge, but explore these gaps and attempt to fill them. Why is the sky blue and why is the river green? Why can’t we administer drugs more safely? Does the earth have to heat up so fast?
Let me tell you about one innovator, Roger, who lives in the Seattle area. He has dozens of inventions. He has a radiant heating device that is based upon lobsters’ eyes. He was walking along the wharves of Seattle once and started looking at the eyes of lobsters. How do they work, he pondered. He tore through encyclopedias trying to figure those eyes out. He replicated some of the principles in developing his heating devices.
Risk taking. Innovators are appropriate risk-takers. I say “appropriate risk-takers” because, contrary to myths, innovators often roll the dice and occasion-ally win. Some do. Walt Disney went bankrupt six times before he made it. He was willing to risk bankruptcy again and again. The same for George Macy of Macy’s Department Stores. In an incredible risk-taking episode, Fred Smith of FedEx reportedly gambled with his last $1,000 in Las Vegas in order to make payroll for his fledgling company. Most innovators are not reckless; they are thoughtful and rational. They are willing to put years of hard work into inventions that may or may not work out.
But at the root, there is a belief in themselves. Innovators are willing to gamble on their own ideas and schemes. Innovators often see the upside of their work long before they see the downside. Sometimes they see the upside unrealistically, but they see the upside. Many of them are serial innovators who have failed and survived. So, failing is not such a downside after all.
“From cradle to grave the pressure is on: BE NORMAL. . . The trouble with this is that corporate normalcy derives from and is dedicated to past realities and past successes. There is no room for... original thinking.” (Tom Peters, management guru)
Assumption challenging. We walk through life unaware of many of the assumptions that are embedded in our reality: automobiles have four wheels, pens use ink, colleges need classrooms, etc. Innovators routinely question assumptions that others take for granted. Once upon a time, radios “needed” large cathode ray tubes. Now they do not. One needed to attend a university in person, on campus during weekdays, in order to obtain a degree. Not so any more. A car could not run on electricity. Now all of those assumptions have been challenged successfully. Who said people won’t pay $4.00 for a cup of coffee? They will. Who said people wouldn’t pay to work volunteer jobs in other countries? They will.
• For successful innovators, questioning assumptions is part of life. There can be large upsides to the process of assumption-testing. It can be annoying to others who are asked questions like: Why can’t broccoli have paprika?
• It can save money. (Why can’t that process only take five steps rather than 12?)
• It can revolutionize industries. (Why can’t music be downloaded, saved, and played digitally?)
• It can make a joyful and sane workplace. (Patagonia asked: Does work have to be oppressive and drudgery?)
• It can make millionaires. (Why do bookstores need shelves and retail space?)
• It can save lives. (Why does river blindness have to be a way of life in Africa?)
Change agent. Innovators are, by nature, change agents. Innovations change lives, change workplaces, change power relationships, and change perspectives on the universe. Therefore, innovators embrace change and, by their work, push others to do the same. Art Fry of 3M made it possible for me to evolve from paper clips to post it notes. That change does not radically change my life, but it does make doing work easier. Howard Schultz of Starbucks created a place for me to write books, away from the distractions of home and work. He changed the way I do work.
Change agents are not afraid of going up against the status quo. Martin Luther King wanted to change the status quo. So did Nelson Mandela. So did the creator of the Segway. But change agents are not always popular; in fact, often they are not. They rock the boat, and some people in the boat just do not like to be rocked. As change agents, these innovators are not afraid to explore new territory. Often, they have to drag others, kicking and screaming, with them.
Doing the Undoable
Henry Ford asked his designers to come up with an eight-cylinder engine. “That’s impossible,” they answered. “It can’t be done. An engine that powerful is only a fantasy.”
“That’s fine,” Ford answered. “Now go and do it anyway.”
Tolerance for ambiguity. Innovators can live in the unanswered question better than most of us. They tolerate the ambiguity of the unknown. Answers might not be readily available, and that is fine with them. They find tension of “not knowing” to be neither dangerous nor unsettling. As a result, they can live at the fringe of processes, procedures, and ways of life and see possibilities that others cannot see. This is the hallmark of an innovative mind.
Innovators often understand that every change looks like a failure at some point. They don’t judge scary moments in between -such as bankruptcy— as failures, but rather as possibilities. Tolerance for ambiguity is a great attribute to have in times of change. We do not know what lies around the corner. In this way, innovators are out ahead of most of us. During their process of invention and innovation, they have learned patience about not being able to predict the outcome of their efforts.
“You have to be open to the unexpected, so that, if you come upon a discovery, you’ll recognize it and act upon it.” Stephanie Kwolek, Chemist, Fast Company, April 2000.
Passion and joy. Some evidence suggests that innovators and creative types are suffering and unhappy. A few, like Virginia Woolf and Ernest Hemingway, end up committing suicide. Others, like Edgar Allen Poe, drink themselves to death.
Actually, most innovators are joyful about of life. This emerges out of their passion for their work. Many authors and artists talk about the joy of practicing their craft, the long hours absorbed in their callings. Employees that work for innovative companies like Patagonia, IDEO, and Ben and Jerry’s often talk about the joy in their work. For most innovators, the excitement of creating something new blossoms into joy.
Persistence. Many successful innovators are serial failures. They go out of business, create inventions that do not work, and sell to the wrong markets. They squander money, use up friendships, stay up until the wee hours, are overfunded or underfunded, or plagued by bureaucracy. And yet, they persevere. They keep walking uphill, through the snowstorm, against the wind, without boots. Art Fry was initially turned down by the 3M marketing department for his Post-it Notes idea. Scientists have been working on hydrogen cell energy for two years without profit.
Fill in the blank. Yes, you, dear reader. What traits do you think are necessary for innovators? There are many others that are helpful: being organized, being well-connected, having suitable resources and support, and understanding thoroughly an industry.