Association is the creative core of innovation

How ­­managers unlock the ability to innovate via connection.

Nathan dispels the belief that creativity is genetic, citing research on twins whereby roughly 80% of intelligence, but only one third of creativity, is genetic. Creativity is instead a function of nurture and behaviours.

What are the behaviours of disruptive innovators that enable them to come up with such creative ideas? Four discovery behaviours feed into the cognitive skill of association which in turn facilitates creative ideas. Part of the creative core is the ability to connect; although the iPod was not the first mp3 player, establishing a link between the iPod and a rotary lock helped innovate the design and differentiate it from competitors.