Is Innovation a Process or a Skill?

"Not long ago, creativity guru Todd Henry recommended to one of his consulting clients, a high-ranking manager, that he set aside one hour a week to generate new ideas -- 'one hour, predictably scheduled, no exceptions and no violations,' Henry says in his book, The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant at a Moment's Notice. 'This is not time to do work. This is time to think about work."

That executive's reaction, Henry recalls: 'He fired back at me, 'What?! You just want me to sit around and think?!'

In today's wired, 24/7 business climate, most people can relate. Who has time to sit and ponder? Yet, Henry writes, companies pay employees, particularly leaders, for the value they create, and 'you can create infinitely greater value for the company in an hour of skilled, focused thought about critical problems than by responding to your email slightly faster.

It would be helpful indeed if innovation were a process, not an innate ability. Still, there's a difference between Steve Jobs and most people, one would have to argue.

How great business innovators are made (not born)