The good news is that model building is a skill that can be learned. And the best way to learn is to start building models. Nobody ever learned to ride a bicycle by reading about riding a bicycle. Model building is a skill that needs to be learned and practiced. The two most valuable skills for this business are teamwork and communication.
Most important projects involve a team working together to accomplish a set of goals.
The ability to work in a team environment is critical element in the success of such efforts. The challenge is to open an effective two-way communication link to a potential user who has a problem. I try to read about new developments and attend seminars at local universities and professional organizations. But mostly I try to hang around with people that are inventing and using new technology. For example, there is a big push right now at ILOG to better understand how linear programming and constraint programming can effectively work together.