Connecting the Dots: Innovation Thinking Styles
Renowned innovation expert Steve Shapiro has recently joined InnoCentive as VP of Strategic Consulting.
On July 1, 2009, I joined InnoCentive as the “VP of Strategic Consulting and Chief Innovation Evangelist.” Although I just joined the company, for several years now, I have marveled at how the InnoCentive Solver community could tackle problems that have plagued businesses and society for years. You are changing the world. And I am thrilled to now be part of your team.
As I followed InnoCentive and observed the success of the Solver community, it got me thinking about how problems are solved.
From my research on innovation personality styles, I have observed that there are two broad ways of solving challenges: relational/creative and rational/analytical.
Steve Jobs, President of Apple Inc, once said, “Creativity is just having enough dots to connect . . . connect experiences and synthesize new things. The reason creative people are able to do that is that they’ve had more experiences or have thought more about their experiences than other people.” This beautifully articulates how creative/relational problem solving works.
To date, most InnoCentive Challenges have been more technical in nature and are typically solved through a more rational/analytical approach.
When looking at these two styles, I realized that InnoCentive Solvers are perfectly positioned to use BOTH innovation styles. To explain why I believe this, let’s explore what happens in the brain when solving Challenges. (more…)
