Stories about Eight Amazing Innovators — Quirky by Melissa A. Schilling

Last week, I had the chance to go to some of the most noteworthy venture capital funds in London and spend the entire week talking about the “funding” and “founding” of startups. It was truly an incredible experience — the whole industry is very vibrant (even under the current climate) and the goals that each one of the funds is working towards are helping to create a better world.

The experience also reminded me of a fantastic book that I read and highly recommend — Quirky by Melissa A. Schilling from the New York University Stern School of Business. In this book, Melissa endeavored to answer two questions that are often on our minds: “what are the defining qualities of those who have achieved mega-innovation and is it possible to nurture these qualities in ourselves or others?”

Melissa dedicated the whole book to discussing 8 innovators — Marie Curie, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Steve Jobs, Dean Kamen, Elon Musk, and Nikola Tesla — and what makes them stand out from the crowd.

The very first chapter (my favorite in the book) talks about the sense of ‘separateness’ or ‘isolation’ that many of these innovators experienced, which can actually be beneficial for innovation but is often not accepted by the larger community. The author discussed the implications of this trait, including the need to re-evaluate the way we emphasize and teach social skills, as she mentioned that “We have to be careful that in our emphasis on social skills, we do not extinguish either individualism or a person’s willingness to challenge norms.”

In fact, if we learn to embrace unconventionally, creative people will have better access to cooperation and resources — thereby giving us the best of both worlds.

The book goes on to examine the extreme confidence that innovators have and how we can facilitate the development of self-efficacy if we are in positions of authority such as managers or parents. The author suggests that we need to provide people with the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to overcome challenging problems and experience success.

Additionally, we can also increase the probability of people succeeding by reducing the consequences of unsuccessful attempts or even by applauding daring but sensible failures.

Are those innovators just smarter or crazier than the average person? According to the author, the answer is “yes” and “probably.” However, there are still many things that can be done to help nurture creative minds. Openness to experience is one of the most commonly associated traits of creativity. Furthermore, activities such as exercising, playing music, or even consuming mild stimulants such as coffee can aid creative thinking. These activities may act to modestly elevate dopamine levels which in turn reduces latent inhibiting and can even enhance working memory, thereby helping individuals to make unusual associations.

Everyone who’s ever taken a shower has had an idea. It’s the person who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it who makes a difference

— Nolan Bushnell

The author conducted a study on innovators and found that with the exception of Thomas Edison, they all shared an intense idealism and a strong focus on achieving a greater cause (sense of purpose), which is what guided their decisions and actions. However, it is essential to remember that idealism, although incredibly powerful, can also be utilized for both positive and negative ends, and must therefore be handled cautiously.

I didn't really think Tesla would be successful. I thought we would most likely fail. But if something’s important enough, you should try even if the probable outcome is failure

— Elon Musk

The drive and nature of innovators can be greatly beneficial in capitalizing on the opportunities of an era. Moreover, having access to resources such as technological, intellectual, or financial resources can also play a key role in driving breakthrough innovation. Therefore, it is important to find ways to make these resources more accessible to the public in order to achieve greater breakthrough innovation.

Despite all of the admirable traits Melissa observed, it is likely that these innovators would not have achieved their breakthroughs without intense dedication and effort. It was reported that those around them could not comprehend the level of their commitment, as the innovators seemed to have no bounds in their pursuit of excellence. It is possible that if asked, the innovators themselves may not have realized the lengths they had gone to in order to succeed.

I still recall the day we were in a VC meeting and the presenter inquired if anyone in the room wished to create a company or join a VC. No one put their hand up in response to the question of starting a company (I regret not raising my hand). Starting something from nothing and bringing it to life can be a challenging feat and having the commitment and drive to make it happen can sometimes be even harder. Though many readers may never end up starting a business or driving innovation, the stories of those innovators demonstrate that “there is so much we can do to cultivate the innovative potential that lies within each of us.”