Finding and Grooming Breakthrough Innovators

Sustaining innovation, many agree, is crucial for a company’s long-term success. But truly innovative people are rare: They have excellent analytic skills, never rest on their laurels, and can identify the solutions likeliest to win over top leadership. They are socially savvy and can bring a diverse group of constituents into alignment. They tend to be both charming and persuasive.

This article looks at the talent-management procedures that can aid organizations in spotting, developing and nurturing potential innovators from within; ultimately enabling companies to stay open to new ideas and prepare them to respond nimbly to innovation from elsewhere in their industries.

Read the full article originally published in the December 2008, issue of Harvard Business Review.