Qualities of an Innovator by Mitch Ditkoff

[Brendan O'Keefe]

Challenges status quo:
Dissatisfied with current reality.
Questions authority and routine.
Confronts assumptions.


Curious: Actively explores their
environment. Investigates new
possibilities. Honors their sense of
awe and wonder.


Self-motivated: Responds to deep
inner needs. Proactively initiates
new projects. Intrinsically rewarded
for efforts.


Visionary: Highly imaginative.
Maintains a future orientation. Thinks
in mental pictures.


Entertains the fantastic: Conjures
outrageous scenarios. Sees
possibilities within the seemingly
impossible. Honors dreams and
daydreams.



Takes risks: Goes beyond their
comfort zone. Experimental and nonconforming.
Courageously willing to
"fail" (but learns from feedback).



Peripatetic: Changes work
environments as needed. Wanders,
walks or travels to inspire fresh
thinking. Given to movement and
interaction.



Playful & humorous: Appreciates
incongruities and surprise. Able to
appear foolish and child-like. Laughs
easily and often.



Self-accepting: Withholds
compulsive criticism of their own
ideas. Understands "perfection is the
enemy of the good." Unattached to
looking good in the eyes of others.



Makes new connections: Sees
relationships between seemingly
disconnected elements. Synthesizes
new combinations. Distills odd ideas
down to their underlying principles.



Reflective: Incubates on problems
and challenges. Seeks out states of
immersion. Ponders, muses and
contemplates.



Recognizes Patterns: Perceptive
and discriminating. Notices
organizing principles & trends. Sees
(and challenges) the Big Picture.



Tolerates ambiguity: Comfortable
with chaos. Able to entertain
paradox. Doesn't settle for the first
"right idea."



Committed to learning:
Continually seeks knowledge.
Synthesizes new input quickly.
Balances info gathering and action.




Balances intuition and analysis:
Alternates between divergent and
convergent thinking. Entertains
hunches before analyzing them.
Trusts their gut, uses their head.



Situationally collaborative:
Balances rugged individualism with
political savvy. Open to coaching and
input. Rallies support as needed.



Formally articulate:
Communicates ideas effectively.
Translates abstract concepts into
meaningful language. Creates
prototypes with ease.



Resilient: Bounces back from
disappointment. Learns quickly from
feedback. Willing to "try, try again."



Persevering: Hardworking and
persistent. Champions new ideas
with tenacity. Committed to follow-through
and bottom-line results.



Flexible/adaptive: Open to
serendipity and change. Able to
adjust game plan as needed.
Entertains multiple ideas & solutions.


© Mitch Ditkoff, 2004 http://ideachampions.com

[Mitch Ditkoff]

Brandan: Thanks for tuning people into my 20 Qualities of an Innovator work. I've found it very useful to break down the big, hairy concept of "innovation" into definable attributes that people can relate to and begin to identify strengths and areas that need improvement. It's a great conversation starter, especially for teams who may need to become more diverse. I've created a 16 page "Qualities of an Innovator" guidebook (print version and downloadable pdf) to help people dive deeper. It's part of a series of 5 creative thinking guidebooks, I call "It's AHAppening. Here are the links to find out more:

http://www.ideachampions.com/creative_thinking_guidebooks.shtml
http://www.ideachampions.com/innovation_kit_platinum.shtml

Also, I've written a new book, AWAKE AT THE WHEEL, available on Amazon, that further amplifies the qualities of an innovator, via an entertaining fable and creative thinking toolkit:

www.awakeatthewheel.info

All the Best!