Six Characteristics of the Innovative Mind

by Scott Seroka. Posted 1 month, 3 weeks ago at 13:08. 0 comments

The word “innovative” has certainly become an overused term. It’s one that nearly everyone uses to define their modus operandi, so much so that its meaning has been diluted.

Yes, many of us innovate on some scale. But large-scale innovation can be attributed to a combination of practices, habits and personal philosophies. True innovators…

1. Search for new opportunities by connecting seemingly unrelated dots. Pierre Omidyar launched eBay when he found himself at the intersection of three unique desires: to create efficient markets, locate hard-to-find items and create a channel to help people find them.

2. Get a kick out of questioning and aggravating the status quo. In other words, if it ain’t broke, they break it, kick it around, add components, eliminate others, put it back together differently, experiment, test it and do it all over again.

3. Collaborate with people who don’t share similar views. Innovators get bored quickly hanging around the office for too long talking to like-minded people. It’s much too limiting and there’s not enough people around to challenge them and push their hot buttons. Instead, they thrive in environments surrounded by others who oppose their views.

4. Create prototypes, launch pilots, construct experiences and provoke different outcomes. To a true innovator, the world is their lab to test and try new things.

5. Scrutinize everything. Innovators study how people behave in their natural environments. They are true people watchers who take notes and think about how to accomplish something easier and more efficiently.

6. Possess acute listening skills. Most people communicate through verbal exchanges of views, opinions and experiences. Innovators possess a sonar with which they interpret and translate what is being said into miniature ideas that are filed away in their minds for future use.

Inspired? Hopefully so. Nearly everything we have today is vastly superior to what we had ten years ago for one reason: innovation.