Unleashing Innovation Report: The Entrepreneur's DNA
Hal Gregersen is an author and professor of innovation and leadership at graduate business school Insead. What follows areedited excerpts from his discussion at the Unleashing Innovation conference. Onfostering entrepreneurship: The data would say about one-third of our creativecapacity is DNA. The other two-thirds is the world we grow up in and work in.So there are things I can do to foster it in children.
Young kids ask a thousand questions─because they don't believe we're listening. When theyconclude that we've understood, they'll stop asking. Listen carefully to thosequestions. When kids come home, instead of asking them, 'What did you learntoday?' Ask them, 'What questions did you ask today?' or 'What questions do youstill have to ask today?'
It could be observing, networking andexperimenting. Have dinners, have lunches, do things with people who don'tlook, think or act like you. One of the biggest gifts we can give our childrenis the opportunity to live in a different country. That will give them anopportunity to see things differently and create like nobody else can. Everyinnovator we interviewed, almost without exception, had adults in their liveswho paid attention to these skills when they were growing up, and it made allthe difference.
On sparking creativity at companies:Innovative companies are led by innovative chief executives. They spend theirtime asking provocative questions, observing the world like anthropologists, networkingwith people who don't think, act or talk like them. They are willing toexperiment and try new things. You have to live it. When it comes toinnovation, it is like hyperspeed in terms of the importance of walking thetalk.
When I'm asking somebody else to do that inmy organization, and if I'm not doing it myself, that massive disconnect tellspeople, 'I'm not going there. You're asking me to ask provocative questions butyou don't do it yourself? You're asking me to spend my time and energy that Icould use to deliver results, and you don't do that? I'm not going there if youdon't go there.' It's ultimately the CEO who sets the stage for innovation bywhat they do. Then it's enabling others to do the same sorts of things.Oncreativity and culture: If I'm in a collective culture where I don't want tostand out, it's difficult to ask provocative questions.
I'm not suggesting that the Chinese becomelike Americans and Americans become like Argentina. That's not the issue here.The issue becomes, 'How do I as a leader create a safe space around me so thatwhatever my cultural environment is, provocative questions surface?' Because ifthose kinds of questions don't get asked, we will not be getting disruptiveideas. They go hand in hand.
On the future of creativity: Any countryhas the potential to be the next innovation country. If China can figure outhow to foster provocative questioning, observing, experimenting and networking,and then take advantage of that within their companies, China has just as gooda chance as anyone to tackle the innovation challenge.
It doesn't matter what culture you're in.When you walk into an innovative company, you see the stuff I'm talking about.Innovators have this deep spark in their eyes that shows they're interested inthe world.
