BYU study looks at how innovation happens

Ever wonder how Michael Dell came up with the idea to create his own computer company? Or how Pierre Omidyar dreamed up the online marketplace eBay? Or how Jeff Bezos came up with the bold moves needed to develop Amazon.com into one of America’s most successful companies?

After more than six years of research, Brigham Young University professor Jeff Dyer is convinced that these visionary business leaders and others didn’t start out completely hard-wired for creativity and innovation.

"I always thought creativity was genetic — that some people have it, some people don’t, and there’s not much you can do to get better at it," Dyer said.

But Dyer thinks differently now. The key qualities that separate great leaders from not-so-great ones can be developed, he and his colleagues contend in "The Innovator’s DNA."

By Lesley Mitchell

The Salt Lake Tribune

Full Story: http://www.sltrib.com/closeup/ci_14636149