There is not much agreement about what makes an idea innovative, and what makes an innovative idea valuable.<\/p>\n
For example, discussions on whether the internet is a better invention than the wheel are more likely to reveal personal preferences than logical argumentation. Likewise, experts disagree on the type and level of innovation that is most beneficial for organizations. Some\u00a0studies<\/a>\u00a0suggest that radical innovation (which does sound sexy) confers sustainable competitive advantages, but\u00a0others<\/a>\u00a0show that \u201cmild\u201d innovation \u2013 think iPhone 5 rather than the original iPhone \u2013 is generally more effective, not least because it reduces market uncertainty. There is also inconclusive evidence on whether we should pay attention to consumers\u2019 views, with some\u00a0studies<\/a>\u00a0showing that a customer focus is detrimental for innovation because it equates to playing catch-up, but\u00a0others<\/a>\u00a0arguing for it. Even Henry Ford\u2019s famous quote on the subject \u2013 \u201cif I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses\u201d \u2013 has been\u00a0disputed<\/a>.<\/p>\n We are also notoriously bad at evaluating the merit of our own ideas. Most people fall trap of anillusory superiority<\/a>\u00a0that causes them to overestimate their creative talent, just as in other domains of competence (e.g., 90% of drivers claim to be above average \u2014 a mathematical improbability). It is therefore clear that we cannot rely on people\u2019s self-evaluation to determine whether their ideas are creative or not.<\/p>\n Yet there are relatively well-defined criteria for predicting\u00a0who<\/i>\u00a0will generate creative ideas.<\/b>\u00a0Indeed,\u00a0research<\/a>\u00a0shows that some people are disproportionately more likely to come up with novel and useful ideas, and that \u2013 irrespective of their field of expertise, job title and occupational background \u2013 these creative individuals tend to display a recurrent set of psychological characteristics and behaviors. As summarized in a detailed\u00a0review<\/a>\u00a0of over 100 scientific studies, creative people tend to be better at identifying (rather than solving) problems, they are passionate and sensitive, and, above all, they tend to have a hungry mind: they are open to new experiences, nonconformist, and curious. These personality characteristics are stronger determinants of creative potential than are IQ, school performance, or motivation.<\/p>\n Creativity alone, however, is not sufficient for innovation:\u00a0innovation<\/a>\u00a0also requires the development, production, and implementation of an idea. This is why the number of \u201clatent\u201d innovators is far larger than the number of actual innovations, and why we all have at some point generated great ideas that we never bothered to implement. Here are a couple of mine:\u00a0rent-a-friend<\/i>\u00a0\u2013 a service that enables tourists to hire locals for advice or simply some company \u2013 and\u00a0location-based dating<\/i>\u00a0via an app that finds your nearby matches based on personality profiling. As with most of my ideas, these have since been successfully implemented by others, who also happened to have them.<\/p>\n The key difference between creativity and innovation is execution:<\/strong>\u00a0the capacity to turn an idea into a successful service, product or venture. If, as\u00a0William James<\/a>\u00a0noted, \u201ctruth is something that happens to an idea\u201d, entrepreneurship is the process by which creative ideas become useful innovations. Given that entrepreneurship involves human agency \u2013 it depends on the decisions and behaviors of certain people \u2013 a logical approach for understanding the essence of innovation is to study the core characteristics of entrepreneurial people, that is, individuals who are a driving force of innovation, irrespective of whether they are self-employed, business founders, or employees. The research highlights several key characteristics (in addition to creativity):<\/p>\n Even when people possess these five characteristics, true innovation is unlikely to occur in the absence of a meaningful mission or clear long-term vision. Indeed, vision is where entrepreneurship meets leadership: regardless of how creative, opportunistic, or proactive you are, the ability to propel others toward innovation is a critical feature of successful innovation. Without it, you can\u2019t attract the right talent, build and empower teams, or ensure that you remain innovative even after attaining success. As Frances Bowen and colleagues recently\u00a0noted<\/a>, there is \u201ca vicious circle [whereby] innovation leads to superior future performance, but such investment can also give rise to core rigidities and hence less innovation in a future time period.\u201d In other words, innovation leads to growth, but growth hinders innovation\u2026 unless innovation is truly ingrained in the organizational culture, which requires an effective vision.<\/p>\n In short, there is no point in just hoping for a breakthrough idea \u2013 what matters is the ability to generate\u00a0many<\/i>\u00a0ideas, discover the right opportunities to develop them, and act with drive and dedication to achieve a meaningful goal.<\/p>\n Ideas don\u2019t make people successful \u2013 it\u2019s the other way around.<\/p>\n Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is an international authority in personality profiling and psychometric testing. He is a Professor of Business Psychology at University College London (UCL), Vice President of Research and Innovation at Hogan Assessment Systems, and has previously taught at the London School of Economics and New York University. He is co-founder of\u00a0metaprofiling.com<\/a>. His book is\u00a0Confidence: Overcoming Low Self-Esteem, Insecurity, and Self-Doubt.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Oaaahhh shucks… had the strange feeling he was talking about me throughout this post, seriously. http:\/\/blogs.hbr.org\/2013\/10\/the-five-characteristics-of-successful-innovators\/ [ALSO THIS RELATED POST: \u00a0http:\/\/blogs.hbr.org\/2013\/12\/entrepreneurs-brains-are-wired-differently\/] The Five Characteristics of Successful Innovators by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic\u00a0\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0 1:00 PM October 25, 2013 There is not much agreement about what makes an idea innovative, and what makes an innovative idea valuable. For example, … Continue reading Characteristics of successful innovators<\/span> \n
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<\/p>\nTOMAS CHAMORRO-PREMUZIC<\/a><\/h3>\n