It's one of the underappreciated skills required by an innovator - they have to be able to convince lots of people to do things that might not be fully rational (invest in the company, join something that is likely to fail, try a product they've never seen before), and if you can't tell a good story it is just very hard to make that happen.

Now, I worry a bit about the TEDification of the world where style trumps substance, so hopefully you have a good blend of both!

People who live in more than two countries are more successful innovators.

I think the most important thing to do is to recognize the fundamentally different circumstances of pursuing growth.

I use the term "fool's gold white space" to highlight a common problem for innovation. People see a market that doesn't exist, and assume that one should exist.

Not only do innovators have to deal with all of the fundamental challenges of innovation, they have to do so in an environment that often is implicitly hostile towards innovation.

The most important thing here is to largely ignore what customers say, and instead watch what they do or track where they spend money.