How do innovators think?

Is a piece from the New York Times, featuring an interview by an editor of Harvard Business Review. From the article:

Q: You conducted a six-year study surveying 3,000 creative executives and conducting an additional 500 individual interviews. During this study you found five "discovery skills" that distinguish them. What are these skills?

Dyer: The first skill is what we call "associating." It allows creative people to make connections across seemingly unrelated questions, problems or ideas. The second skill is "questioning" — an ability to ask "what if," "why" and "why not" questions that challenge the status quo and open up the bigger picture. The third is the ability to closely observe details, particularly of people's behavior. Another skill is the ability to experiment. And finally, they are really good at networking with smart people who have little in common with them, but from whom they can learn.