Unleashing Innovation Report: The Entrepreneur's DNA

创新精神可以培养

Hal Gregersen is an author and professor of innovation and leadership at graduate business school Insead. What follows are edited excerpts from his discussion at the Unleashing Innovation conference.

On fostering entrepreneurship: The data would say about one-third of our creative capacity is DNA. The other two-thirds is the world we grow up in and work in. So there are things I can do to foster it in children.

Young kids ask a thousand questions─because they don't believe we're listening. When they conclude that we've understood, they'll stop asking. Listen carefully to those questions. When kids come home, instead of asking them, 'What did you learn today?' Ask them, 'What questions did you ask today?' or 'What questions do you still have to ask today?'

It could be observing, networking and experimenting. Have dinners, have lunches, do things with people who don't look, think or act like you. One of the biggest gifts we can give our children is the opportunity to live in a different country. That will give them an opportunity to see things differently and create like nobody else can.

Every innovator we interviewed, almost without exception, had adults in their lives who paid attention to these skills when they were growing up, and it made all the difference.

On sparking creativity at companies: Innovative companies are led by innovative chief executives. They spend their time asking provocative questions, observing the world like anthropologists, networking with people who don't think, act or talk like them. They are willing to experiment and try new things.

You have to live it. When it comes to innovation, it is like hyperspeed in terms of the importance of walking the talk.

When I'm asking somebody else to do that in my organization, and if I'm not doing it myself, that massive disconnect tells people, 'I'm not going there. You're asking me to ask provocative questions but you don't do it yourself? You're asking me to spend my time and energy that I could use to deliver results, and you don't do that? I'm not going there if you don't go there.'

It's ultimately the CEO who sets the stage for innovation by what they do. Then it's enabling others to do the same sorts of things.

On creativity and culture: If I'm in a collective culture where I don't want to stand out, it's difficult to ask provocative questions.

I'm not suggesting that the Chinese become like Americans and Americans become like Argentina. That's not the issue here. The issue becomes, 'How do I as a leader create a safe space around me so that whatever my cultural environment is, provocative questions surface?' Because if those kinds of questions don't get asked, we will not be getting disruptive ideas. They go hand in hand.

On the future of creativity: Any country has the potential to be the next innovation country. If China can figure out how to foster provocative questioning, observing, experimenting and networking, and then take advantage of that within their companies, China has just as good a chance as anyone to tackle the innovation challenge.

It doesn't matter what culture you're in. When you walk into an innovative company, you see the stuff I'm talking about. Innovators have this deep spark in their eyes that shows they're interested in the world.

关于培养创业精神：数据显示，大约三分之一的创新能力决定于DNA。另外三分之二则是我们成长和工作的环境。因此可以通过一些方式来培养孩子的创新精神。

微软张亚勤：中国将成创新中心年幼的孩子会提出无数问题──因为他们不相信我们是在倾听。一旦他们得出结论认为我们已经理解，他们就会停止发问。仔细倾听他们的问题。当孩子们回家时，不要问“你今天学到了什么？”而是问他们“你今天问了什么问题？”或者“你今天还有什么问题要问？”

创新力可以通过观察、社交和体验来培养。跟外表、思想或行为与自己不一样的人一同吃饭、活动。我们能给孩子的最好礼物之一就是在不同国家生活的机会。那会让他们有机会以不同的方式看待事物，从而拥有无人能比的创新能力。

我们采访过的每一位创新者几乎无一例外地在成长期间都有成年人关注他们的这些技能，而这一点正是关键所在。

关于在公司里激发创意：创新型的公司都有创新型的领袖。他们总是提出发人深省的问题，像人类学家那样观察世界，与思维、行事或言谈不同于自己的人交往。他们愿意体验和尝试新事物。

Darren Francis for The Wall Street Journal

格雷格森在《华尔街日报》“释放创新”大会上你必须身体力行。在创新这个问题上，言行一致极其重要。

如果我让别人在我的公司里创新，而我自己却不这样做，这种巨大的脱节很能说明问题。人们会觉得，我才不会那样做呢，你叫我提出引人深思的问题，你自己却做不到？你让我花费本来可以用来做出成果的时间和精力，而你自己却没有这样做？如果你都不做，我也不会去做。

归根到底是要由首席执行长通过他所做的事情来为创新创造条件。然后其他人才能够做同样的事情。

关于创造力和文化：如果身处一种没人愿意出风头的集体文化中，就很难提出引人深思的问题。

我并不是建议中国人变得像美国人一样、美国人像阿根廷人一样。那不是这个问题的关键。关键在于，作为企业领袖，我如何在自己身边创造一个安全的环境，确保无论我身处何种人文环境，引人深思的问题都会浮现？因为如果没人提出这样的问题，我们就不会获得具有颠覆意义的创新理念。这二者是相互关联的。

关于创造力的未来：任何国家都有成为下一个创新之国的潜力。如果中国能够想出办法，在中国公司内部鼓励人们提出引人深思的问题，进行观察、体验和交流，然后再加以利用，那么在应对创新挑战方面，中国的机遇并不逊于任何人。

身处何种文化并不重要。走进一家创新型的公司，你就会看到我所说的那类员工。创新者的眼中有一种深藏的光芒，昭示着他们对世界的浓厚兴趣。