Online Book Club: The Innovator's DNA chapter 4: Observing

Online Book Club for Business Impact

The Innovator’s DNA Chapter 4: Discovery Skill Observing

by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen, Clayton M. Christensen

Practical and provocative, The Innovator’s DNA is an essential resource for individuals and teams who want to strengthen their innovative prowess.

The authors outline five discovery skills that distinguish innovative entrepreneurs and executives from ordinary managers: Associating, Questioning, Observing, Networking, and Experimenting.

I think this is the best book from 2011 on innovation and entrepreneurship. It is based on interviews of more than 100 innovators, a decade of research and compliments other auto-biographical books that have come out. It is packed with insights. It presents five key discovery skills, how to assess them, how to develop them and how to apply them. These skills are important to master for any team trying to innovate.

I think the following kinds of people will benefit from taking part in this series.

• If you are a first time entrepreneur, this book and this webinar series will give you a model for exploring a new market.
• If you are a serial entrepreneur I think it will give you a useful perspective on your earlier efforts and may enable you to refine your approach.
• And if you are trying to get your firm to innovate it gives you a framework of key discovery skills and also allows you to understand the contrast of traditional execution skills that are more focused on detail and planning as opposed to discovery.