How to Build Innovation Thinking Skills Through Daily Journaling

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Most innovation leaders are performing someone else's version of innovation thinking.

I've spent decades in this field. Worked with Fortune 100 companies. And here's what I see happening everywhere.

Brilliant leaders following external frameworks. Copying methodologies from people they admire. Shifting their approach based on whatever's trendy.

But they never develop their own innovation thinking skills.

Today, I'd like to share a simple practice that has transformed my life. And I'll show you exactly how I do it.

The Problem

Here's what I see in corporate America.

Leaders are reacting to innovation trends instead of thinking for themselves. They chase metrics without questioning if those metrics matter. They abandon promising ideas when obstacles appear because they don't have internal principles to guide them.

I watched a $300 million innovation initiative collapse. Not because the market wasn't ready. Not because the technology was wrong. But because the leader had no personal framework for making innovation decisions under pressure.

This is the hidden cost of borrowed thinking. You can't innovate authentically when you're following someone else's playbook.

After four decades, I've come to realize something that most people miss. We teach innovation methods. But we never teach people how to think as innovators.

There's a massive difference. And that difference is everything.

When you develop your own innovation thinking skills, you stop being reactive. You start operating from internal principles instead of external pressures. You ask better questions. Not just “How can we solve this?” but “Should we solve this?”

That's what authentic innovation thinking looks like.

The Solution

So what's the answer?

Innovation journaling.

Now, before you roll your eyes, this isn't keeping a diary. This is a systematic development of your innovation thinking skills through targeted questions.

My mentor taught me this practice early in my career. It became a 40-year obsession because it works.

The process is simple. Choose a question. Write until the thought feels complete. Close the journal. Start your day.

However, what makes this powerful is… The questions force you to examine your core beliefs about innovation. They help you develop principles that guide decisions when external pressures try to pull you in different directions.

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Published on 1 month, 1 week ago