A Summary of the Case Study: The Innovator’s DNA
A Summary of the Case Study: The Innovator’s DNA
Jeffrey H. Dyer, a professor of strategy at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
Hal B. Gregersen, a professor of leadership at Insead in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Fontainebleau, France.
Clayton M. Christensen, a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School in Boston.
A six year research study was completed to establish the origins of creative business strategies of the most innovative companies. The goal was to scrutinize the work of innovative entrepreneurs to see how and when they develop innovative ideas that are the cornerstone of their business. The work habits of 25 selected innovative entrepreneurs were researched, including more than 3,000 executives and 500 individuals. The study revealed that, in most cases, top executives take responsibility for initiating and assisting the innovation process. However, senior executives tend to do the creative work themselves. The researchers came up with five discovery skills that are vital for executives to generate innovative ideas: associating, questioning, observing, experimenting, and networking. These skills are called the innovator’s DNA. Entrepreneurs, who are innovative, possess creative intelligence. The findings show that each entrepreneur has his unique innovator’s DNA, just like his physical DNA is unique. Even more, one-third of our creative thinking relates to genetics, but two-thirds of the skill can be acquired through learning: understanding, practicing, experimenting, and creating.
Central bone of the innovator’s DNA is associating. It is well connected to experiences a person has accumulated – more diverse experiences can make more connections in the person’s brain. Associating develops by using the other skills as well. Effective questioning is asking “Why?”, “Why not?” and “What if?” Also, to think innovatively one should be able to hold two different ideas in one’s head and produce a synthesis. The skill of observing is important, too, when executives try to generate new business ideas. These are behavioral details that matter in the activities of customers and companies. All innovative entrepreneurs interviewed, were keen on taking up active experimentation as it is critical to innovation. One of the most popular experiments is working overseas to gain enough expertise to deliver innovative products back at home. Moreover, to become fully successful, business people should meet people from different works of life to extend their own knowledge. This can include idea conferences and seminars that bring together people from different countries.
Innovators have a common goal to change the status quo, and to achieve it, they take risks. Their motives are to “make history”, “to put a ding in the universe”, etc. Most of them claim that no one if free from mistakes, while mistakes are nothing to be ashamed of, but regarded as a cost of making business. The research conclusion is that innovators must act differently to think differently.
