This document summarizes a study that identified 5 discovery skills that distinguish highly innovative entrepreneurs: 1) Associating - Making connections between diverse ideas and fields of knowledge. 2) Questioning - Challenging the status quo through inquisitive questioning. 3) Observing - Closely observing human behaviors and actions to identify opportunities. 4) Experimenting - Willingly trying new experiences, taking things apart, and testing ideas through prototypes. 5) Networking - Finding and testing ideas through a diverse network of individuals from different backgrounds. The presenter encourages developing these skills to foster more innovation within businesses and individuals. Examples are provided to illustrate how innovators have used these skills

1. What is the “Secret
Sauce” of Innovation?
Learn the 5 Discovery
Skills of Out-Performing
Innovators
Based on the innovator’s DNA study by
Christensen et al
Presented by Linda Naiman
Founder, Creativity at Work.com
For ProductCamp, Vancouver 2013
© Linda Naiman CreativityatWork.com

2. Business success in the 21st
century resides in the ability to lead
creatively and innovate
Creativity supported by Workplace
Culture = Innovation
© Linda Naiman CreativityatWork.com

3. The problem is, very
few business leaders
know how to develop
creativity and
innovation within
themselves or within
the workplace.
Linda Naiman, Creativity at Work

4. Searching for Answers
Eight year study by Dyer, Gregersen, and Christensen uncover
the origins of creative—and often disruptive—business
strategies in particularly innovative companies.
At most companies, top executives do not feel personally
responsible for coming up with strategic innovations.They
facilitate the innovation process.
In stark contrast, senior executives of the most innovative
Innovators in companies—a mere 15% in our study—don’t delegate
the study creative work. They do it themselves.
included Steve
Jobs, Jeff Bezos,
But how do they do it?
Pierre Omidyar,
and A.G. Lafley.
© Linda Naiman CreativityatWork.com

5. Key Discoveries
Specific patterns of behaviour emerged over and
over:
One’s ability to generate innovative ideas is not
merely a function of the mind, but also a function
of behaviours.
Five discovery skills distinguish the most
innovative entrepreneurs from other executives.
© Linda Naiman CreativityatWork.com

6. 5 Discovery Skills of Innovators
These Innovator’s DNA
behaviours
1. Associating
cultivate new
insights 2. Questioning
3. Observing
4. Experimenting
5. Networking
“Entrepreneurs (who are also CEOs) spend 50%
more time on these discovery activities than do
CEOs with no track record for innovation.”
— Innovator’s DNA by Clayton M. Christensen et al.

7. Idea in action
Compete with your
twin to create new Your Identical Twin who:
biz idea venture in 1 1. talks with 10 diff people— ie
week: engineer, musician, designer
Who will win? 2. visits 3 innovative start-ups to
observe what they do,
You?
3. samples 5 new products
Working alone in your
cubicle to come up 4. shows a prototype she’s built to
with ideas. 5 people, and
5. asks“What if I tried this?” and
“Why do you do that?” at least
10 x a day

8. You could be as innovative and
impactful as the most creative
people in business – if you change
your behavior and develop these 5
habits....
© Linda Naiman CreativityatWork.com

9. 1. Associating
“Creativity is connecting things.”
—Steve Jobs
The more diverse your experience and
knowledge, the more connections your
brain can make.
Steve Jobs studied calligraphy and this
influenced user-friendly, graphics-
based Macs.

10. Associating
Pierre Omidyar: Founder of
ebay connected dots:
1. Fascination with creating
more-efficient markets
after having been shut
out from a hot internet
IPO in 1990s;
2. Fiancée's desire to locate
hard-to-find collectible
Pez dispensers
3. Ineffectiveness of local ads
to locate these items

11. 2. Questioning
Innovators are consummate
questioners who show a passion
for inquiry. Their queries
frequently challenges the status
quo.
Questions focus on two areas:
1.Describing the Territory
"You don't invent the 2.Disrupting the Territory
answers, you reveal the Tips:
answers by finding the • Engage in QuestionStorming
right questions.“ • Cultivate question thinking
- Jonas Salk • Track your Q/A ratio
• Keep a question-centered
notebook

12. Eg: Questioning Status Quo in HealthCare
AliveCor’s Heart Monitor Connecting dots: Medicine
plugs into your iPhone
and Tech
"The ability to get an ECG on a
Smartphone is remarkably David E. Albert, MD is a
transformative—an icon of how physician, inventor and
medicine of the future will be founder of three tech
radically rebooted." companies, InnovAlarm,
Eric Topol, M.D. Lifetone Technology and
Watch
story:
h,p://www.nbcnews.com/id/21134540/ AliveCor.
vp/50582822#50582822

13. 3. Observing
Ratan Tata was inspired to create
world’s cheapest car by observing the
plight of a family of four packed
onto a single motorized scooter.
Tip: Be an anthropologist: observe
human behaviours and actions to
discover wasted effort that could be
turned into an innovation challenge.
“We don't know who discovered
Nano $2500 1998 water, but we know it wasn't the
fish.” Marshall McLuhan

14. Observing
“Observation is the big game
changer in our company”
— Scott Cook, founder, Intuit
Two key observations:
• Wife’s frustration on keeping track of
their finances
• Sneak peek at Apple Lisa

15. problem

16. solve

17. Visual Thinking
makes tacit knowledge visible and helps
people see what you mean.
Client meeting in the boardroom of BP in NYC.

18. 4. Experimenting
Three ways that innovators
experiment
• Try out new experiences
• Take apart products, processes,
and Ideas
• Test ideas through pilots and
prototypes
Example: Michael Dell taking his
new computer apart in his
sixteenth birthday.

19. Eg. Prototyping
Prototyping: Build to think
“Effective prototyping may be the most
valuable core competence an innovative
organization can have.” Think about It.
Innovation = Reaction to the Prototype
—Michael Schrage, MIT
“Encourage employees to go down blind alleys and
experiment…”
--Jeff Bezos

20. 5. Networking
Rather than simply doing social
networking, innovators spend a lot of
time and energy finding and testing
ideas through a diverse network of
individuals who vary widely in their
background and perspectives.
Discovery driven executives Delivery-driven executives
• Why they network: Idea • Why they network? Resources
- Learn new, surprising things - Access resources
- Gain new perspectives - Sell themselves or their company
- Test Ideas “in process” - Future careers
• Whom they target • Whom they target?
- People who are not like them - People who are like them
- Experts and nonexperts with very - People with substantial resources,
different backgrounds and perspectives power, position, influence, etc.
Source: Innovator’s DNA

21. If you want to see the future coming, 90
percent of what you need to learn, you’ll learn
outside of your industry. There is nothing that
you can learn from inside your industry that
will help you get ready for the future. Literally
nothing, because you already know it.
~ Gary Hamel

22. Eg Networking inspired innovation
Michael Lazaridis, says that the
original inspiration for the
BlackBerry came from a speaker
at a 1987 conference, describing
how a Coke wireless data system
in vending machines can send out
a notice when they need refilling.
Key ideas for JetBlue (satellite
TV at seat and at-home
reservationists) came through
networking at conferences
and elsewhere

23. harvard business review • december 2009

24. The DNA of Disruptive Innovators
Behavioral
Courage & Skills Cognitive skill to
motivation synthesize novel
to Innovate inputs
Questioning
Challenges
to status
quo Observing Innovative
Associational
Business
thinking
Idea
Taking risks
Networking
Experimenting
Source: Innovator’s DNA

25. What DNA Skills will you practice?
1. Associating
What associations can you make between the disparate data
you gather through your discoveries, and your field?
2. Questioning
Write down questions every day that challenge status quo in
your work. Collect compelling questions from other leaders and
innovators.
3. Observing
Take pictures and notes everywhere you go.
4. Experimenting
Attend seminars/ trade shows, outside your area of expertise.
Create learning labs/salons that provoke new ideas and insights.
5. Networking: meeting people with different ideas and perspectives.
ProductCamp
TedX
Creative Fridays
Sam Sullivanʼs Civic Society

26. Connecting:
Please Creativityatwork.com
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For Creativity & Innovation skills development
via coaching and training please contact me at:
LN@creativityatwork.com
Tel: +1 604-327-1565
Thank you!
Linda Naiman
Linda Naiman, Creativity at Work