The discussion of the capabilities of innovators continues. Are there distinctive characteristics or capabilities of an innovator? Innovators are certainly "the starter dogs" in business and could complete a small business plan template in about 2 minutes. In what ways could the capabilities of an innovator be validated even if an objective answer can be formulated? It appears that such efforts are too slippery to actually define a distinctive role with transcribable capabilities; however, there is undoubtedly a mix of experimentation, ingenuity, vision, and a gut-feeling that has no grounding or reasoning behind it at all.
It's time to examine the distinctive capabilities of innovators and conclude with perhaps a new understanding of who innovators are and why. Innovators have the following capabilities:
1. The capability of belief in themselves. This was vividly demonstrated by a group of 9-year-olds who were given pocket knives. They were instructed to handle the blades with extreme care because the blades were sharp. They were also instructed to avoid running the open blades over the palms of their hands because, yes, they would cut themselves. Out of a group of five children, two immediately opened the knives and ran the blades over the palms of their hands, producing loud protestations and shouts for bandages.
Why would this occur? Were these kids simply not listening (as most parents will suggest)? Innovators believe in themselves and their own capabilities. If someone is insane enough to suggest to them that something shouldn't be done, it only fuels the certainty within them that the very thing under discussion should be done. If 9-year-old innovators believe in themselves, one can only imagine the driving force of thought and forward motion in a 30-year-old about to launch a ground-breaking tech solution.
2. The capability of making mistakes. Sometimes; big mistakes. Innovators are cautious, but are also likely to suddenly suggest blowing up a vacuum cleaner to see what would happen as a result. The result is inevitable: a spouse comes barreling through the back door, yelling at the one who just blew up the vacuum. There is a devil-may-care attitude that innovators carry because most of the time they are intrigued by the ideas floating through their brains, rather than the words of warning directed at them. According to Howard Gardner, who studied multiple intelligences, innovators have what is called "creative intelligence." This type of intelligence is different from others because it suggests forward motion without consequence, meaning you should probably hide your vacuum cleaner if an innovator is due to visit anytime soon.
3. The capability of questioning. This is true without question. An innovator at the age of six will want to know why that small tag of skin is on the inside of one's ear and the innovator is rarely appeased by a general answer. Random questions, asked in no order, file together in the brain of the innovator to form substantive answers. The brain then resolves the question internally. This is a unique capability, unlike that of entrepreneurs, who can often control their own line of questioning. Innovators may also ask because they sense a problematic product introduction or a tech launch that will fail.
4. The capability of observing. If you know an innovator, watch that person if something is about to occur. It doesn't have to be disastrous for an innovator to watch with careful inspection. The innovator's brain is one that is curiously dissecting behaviors and decisions into segmented pieces for further exploration at a later date. There may be no comment when a fly suddenly exits a tuna sandwich, aside from the innovator's close observation of the one eating the sandwich. This quality is disarming in its strength and purpose, and it is apparently put to good use in the brain.
5. The capability of experimenting. If one has read any of the previous capabilities, it is surely obvious that experimentation occurs regularly and without constraint in the innovator's world. This is because the results always have a purpose. The information is filed away, only to be pulled out later to correct the trajectory of a rocket missile spinning out of orbit.
The innovator's world is an inquisitive one, filled with misadventures and verve. One acquaintance, a born innovator, wanted to see what would happen if he jumped from the top of a ladder onto the face of the ranch windmill. Observing friends walked away, only to look up later to see him hanging in front of the windmill by the strap of his overalls, moving in laps around the face of the mill, like a timekeeper rotating around the face of a clock. Innovators have creative intelligence; whether any of the rest of the world does remains the question.
