WHO ARE YOU? DISCOVERING THE 10 KINDS OF PEOPLE THAT PLAY INNOVATION IN YOUR ORGANIZATION
By: Obichi Obiajunwa
Tags: Personal Branding, Innovation

WHO ARE YOU? DISCOVERING THE 10 KINDS OF PEOPLE THAT PLAY INNOVATION IN YOUR ORGANIZATION Obichi Obiajunwa Nov 14, 2019·3 min read

As you start your innovation journey in your organization, you’ll discover one role which naturally resonates with your character and personality. This is the addition you bring to your organization’s innovation capabilities and competencies.

In this brief article is a description of the 10 kinds of personas who influence innovation in any organization. This short article was adapted from the Ten Faces of Innovation by Tom Kelley of IDEO.

These characters are involved in pushing up innovation despite the roles of the devil’s advocate in the ideation process in your organization.

1. Anthropologist: They are positive and enthusiastic about finding new ways of improving the way people make use of products. He is able to see things that have gone unnoticed with great intuition to come up with new innovations. He finds unfamiliar in the familiar. A Steve Jobs.

2. Experimenter: They are more excited about the process than the output. They pay close attention to the empirical approaches involved in shaping ideas to make a valuable solution. They are patient willing to fail many times. A Thomas Edison.

3. Cross-Pollinator: They thrive on curiosity, versatility and ability to connect unrelated fields and knowledge domains to create an interesting idea and solution. In your organization, they are seen as versatile persons with a great open-mindedness. A Richard Branson.

4. Hurdler: These are the optimistic and ardent believers in their pursuit and dreams. It may take them time to crack the challenge but they don’t mind. You find this character in those who take responsibility to crack difficult challenges in your organization despite discouragements from short-sighted fellows. An Elon Musk.

5. Collaborator: They desire the team approach than the group approach. They always gather multidisciplinary skills to attempt problems instead of working in silos. They are motivational and appear as coaches than managers. They are the men that bring confidence to your teams. A Jack Ma.

6. Director: They have a bigger picture understanding of your organization and are capable to get things done by organizing people. They are able to take up responsibility to administer and lead other co-workers to achieve results. A Tim Cook

7. Experience Architect: These persons are talented in creating unique experiences with your organization through products and services. They are creative and they pay attention to the customers to provide them a unique experience. They are the designers. They give value to the innovation. A Jeff Bezos

8. Set Designer: They make the creative environments and spaces. In their energetic and creative style, they stimulate cultures to celebrate creativity. In your organization, they ensure that there’s a comfortable corner to breed creativity and innovation. A Tim Brown.

9. Storyteller: They are able to create authentic experiences using stories. They can motivate others and transmit values through their communication abilities and tools. A Guy Kawasaki.

10. Caregiver: They seek to understand and focus on helping the customer to have a human-centered experience. They are the ones that stay in contact with the customer and ensures they receive all the attention they require. A Jet Blue Staff.

Discover your persona and build on it!