Finally, it means creating a growth-mindset environment in which people can thrive. This involves:

• Presenting skills as learnable

• Conveying that the organization values learning and perseverance, not just ready-made genius or talent

• Giving feedback in a way that promotes learning and future success

• Presenting managers as resources for learning

The irony, of course, is that large organizations are open. Employees interact with thousands or millions of customers each day. Executives and managers talk constantly with suppliers, consultants, regulators, and other stakeholders. Why, then, hasn’t open innovation made a bigger difference? Why isn’t the typical corporation as resilient and innovative as a city or a university? Because, to put it bluntly, they’re often run by people whose minds are hermetically sealed against unconventional ideas.

Habit #2: Be Alert to What’s Changing

Having an open mind means being open to what’s changing. Successful innovators pay attention to things that are peeking over the horizon— nascent trends that seem ripe with revolutionary potential.

Large companies often seem incurious about new trends. Why was it Lululemon, for example, and not Nike or Under Armour that capitalized on the growing passion of women for fitness in general and yoga in particular? Orthodox thinking was partly to blame. Traditional athleticwear companies didn’t regard yoga as a sport. Yoga has no professional league and no superstar endorsements. Yet if a sport is something that requires athletic prowess, yoga definitely qualifies. (If you doubt this, open your browser and search “side crow pose.”)

You can choose how you will approach a problem; you can guide your own thinking about it.” I want them to see that this is the heart of the matter. This personal skill is more important than any one so-called strategy concept, tool, matrix, or analytical framework. It is the ability to think about your own thinking, to make judgments about your own judgments.

Create-Destroy

… The creation of new higher-quality alternatives requires that one try hard to “destroy” any existing alternatives, exposing their fault lines and internal contradictions. I call this discipline create-destroy.

Trying to destroy your own ideas is not easy or pleasant. It takes mental toughness to pick apart one’s own insights. In my own case, I rely on outside help—I invoke a virtual panel of experts that I carry around in my mind.