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.

Everyone knows innovation involves developing unique understanding of a market, thinking expansively to develop a solution, and then finding a way to test rigorously and adapt quickly.

Have a core concept, but wrap it in a full business model.

Good innovators are careful observers, network extensively, run experiments, ask lots of questions, and find ways to bring diverse ideas together. Overarching all of this is an intrinsic interest in working through puzzles.

I think people make innovation much more complicated than it needs to be.

I have a fear right now that what I call the advertising-narcissism complex is sucking up way too much top talent.

I've come to the conclusion that the core characteristic that separates companies that get innovation from those that don't is a simple word: curiosity.