6.3 The Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs

Creativity, as we have suggested earlier, can be learned. Dyer, Gregersen, and Christensen investigated the habits of 25 successful innovative entrepreneurs (e.g., Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, etc.) over the course of a 6-year study.Dyer, Gregersen, and Christensen (2009). Here is an overview of their findings related to entrepreneurs:

• They make unusual and unique associations and combinations of processes, products, and technologies.
• They are good at asking questions related to the why, why not, and what-ifs processes, products, and technologies.
• They like to observe and scrutinize processes, products, and technologies.
• They are experimenters with processes, products, and technologies.
• They are good at networking.

The authors of the study also note that these skills can be developed through practice and by creating an environment conducive to their development. The following section presents a series of steps that we have identified to create an environment that fosters creativity.