6 Surprising Habits That Set Great Innovators Apart

21CTO community guide: Greg Satell, a leader in corporate digital transformation, identified six common traits of great innovators through his research on global enterprises.

Innovation is at the core of every successful company, from Henry Ford’s assembly line to Elon Musk’s autonomous driving technologies.

Organizations face diverse challenges: some, like Intel, improve existing technologies, while others, such as the Anderson Cancer Center, pursue breakthrough discoveries.

In his upcoming book "Innovation Map," Satell outlines six practices shared by innovators across corporations, startups, and world‑class labs.

1. Find the problem

Innovation starts with a significant problem, not a brilliant idea. Innovators actively seek tough issues, as exemplified by Jim Allison’s cancer immunotherapy work and Charlie Bennett’s interest in natural computation.

Companies like IBM’s DataLabs and Google’s “20% time” institutionalize problem‑searching, demonstrating that hiring smart people alone is insufficient.

2. Choose strategies that fit your abilities, strategy, and culture

After WWII, islanders built makeshift airstrips, copying military signals without understanding aviation principles—an illustration that mimicking strategies without context fails.

Effective innovation strategies must align with an organization’s unique capabilities, strategy, and culture.

3. Identify the most suitable innovation strategy for the current problem

Innovation is not a monolithic obstacle; it occurs in labs, factories, cafés, and even after‑work gatherings. A clear decision framework—defining the problem and its scope—helps create an innovation matrix.

Successful innovators can apply diverse strategies to solve distinct problems.

4. Leverage platforms to access talent, technology, and information ecosystems

Modern power lies in accessible assets rather than owned ones; platforms enable organizations to tap external talent and technologies, echoing Bill Joy’s observation that the smartest people often work for others.

5. Build a collaborative culture

Contrary to the myth of isolated work, remote collaboration is harder without teamwork. Scientific research now involves far larger author teams, and trust‑based communication fuels innovation.

6. Embrace the chaotic nature of innovation

Innovation is messy; successes are visible while failures are hidden. Alexander Fleming’s penicillin discovery illustrates years of perseverance before breakthrough. Breakthroughs arise when ideas combine to solve important problems, not from single events or lone geniuses.

Understanding these six habits equips organizations to navigate digital transformation and foster sustained innovation.