The answer is not complicated: People, process, and philosophies (what we call the 3Ps). They differentiate the best in class from the next in class when it comes to keeping innovation alive and delivering an innovation premium year after year.

On the people front, the behaviour of leaders matters—big time. In our initial study on disruptive innovators published with Clayton Christensen in The Innovator’s DNA, we found five “discovery skills” that distinguished innovators from non-innovators. Innovators ask provocative questions that challenge the status quo. They observe the world like anthropologists to detect new ways of doing things.  They network with people who don’t look or think like them to gain radically different perspectives. They experiment to relentlessly test new ideas and try out new experiences. Finally, these behaviours trigger new associations which allow them to connect the unconnected, thereby producing disruptive ideas.

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As part of our research we developed an assessment to determine how much individuals engage these skills. We found that top management teams’ innovation skills make a serious difference. In fact, leaders of high innovation premium companies scored at the 88th percentile on our assessment of the five skills of disruptive innovators. By comparison, CEOs of average companies scored at only the 62nd percentile. Put differently, innovative leaders spent approximately 31 percent of their time actively engaged in innovation-centered activities compared to only 15 percent by leaders of less innovative companies.  Doubling the time a senior leader personally invests in getting new ideas usually delivers significant returns.

“The experience outside [P&G] gave me a lot more authority in challenging the status quo,” says Freda, “I stayed the challenger forever.”  The trilingual (Italian, French, English) executive has lived throughout Italy — Naples, Rome and Florence — and in Germany, Switzerland and Belgium.  During his time at Gucci, Freda oversaw international marketing and strategic planning. While at P&G, he worked in many divisions including cough and cold, laundry, health and beauty, and most recently, as president of global snacks. Freda is the quintessential observer—and as he observes he both watches and listens. After arriving at Estée Lauder, he spent six months on a “listening tour”, zigzagging across Lauder’s worldwide operations in 140 countries. “I strongly believe in the power of listening,” says Freda. Listening, he says, helps him connect the dots. “The way my thinking and creativity goes is listening, connecting and creating.”

S.D. Shibulal, co-founder and CEO of Infosys (#19 this year; #15 last) is both observer and experimenter. In his 30 years at Infosys, Shibulal says, “There is nothing that I have not done.”  He was the first sales person, has done account management, launched its internet consulting practice, is a network expert, helped design and launch its first ecommerce application, and has been the head of both delivery and sales. To get a new perspective, Shibulal took a five-year sabbatical to work for another firm, Sun Microsystems.  He’s also known as an experimenter and “gadget freak”. Shibulal has always been fascinated with taking things apart and putting them back together.  When he buys the latest device, he never uses it as it is.  He examines it, takes it apart and refits it to his needs, turning fad into art. Before PDAs were popular, he had assembled his own version with different parts from a RadioShack store. That’s why at Infosys, where geeks are a dime a dozen, he is revered as a “gizmo guru”.

The Process of Innovation

We’ve found that successful leaders not only personally understand how innovation happens but they try to imprint their behaviours as processes within their organisation.

This article was originally published by Forbes. To read the full article go here.