The very ability to empathize with a user requires that I have an understanding of that user's value and needs. This is what leads to many product fails. The individuals developing the innovation don't actually use it.

The best way to improve perspective taking is to see users up close.

Clashing expectations are what most consistently derail any team, and especially a culturally diverse team. So if you take the time to "define" the goal carefully upfront, you've addressed one of the most difficult and important parts of the innovative process.

Many Westerners see follow-through and reliability as the most critical factor in how they calculate the trustworthiness of another individual. In some other cultures, who you know and how you're related to other individuals is the most important variable. And for others, it may be as much about your reputation and what others have said about you.

I never expected my graduate degrees to give me all the practical how-to's that can perhaps only be learned through the school of hard knocks.

What really makes the difference in innovation is whether the corporate culture is paying attention to innovation.

Trust is consistently seen as a make or break component of innovation - particularly because the freedom to fail is an important part of innovation.