Which type of innovator are you?
                               -- and why it matters

Archetypal seeker: Paul Cezanne Like many experimental innovators, Cezanne was often dissatisfied with his achievements and did his top-valued work late in his career. “I seek.”          -- Cézanne Archetypal finder: Pablo Picasso Like many conceptual innovators, Picasso repeatedly changed styles and  did his top-valued work early in his career. “I don’t seek. I find.”                  -- Picasso

The basics -- Two types of innovator:

• Experimental innovators (also known as seekers)
• Conceptual innovators (also known as finders)
• How David Galenson identified the two types.
• Why it matters
• Hypothesis 1: Everyone is experimental, conceptual, or a mix that’s weighted toward one of those two types.
• Hypothesis 2: People can discover which type of innovator they are and put that information to use in daily life and in career planning.

Take a quiz

• Are you experimental or conceptual?
• Feedback: Did the quiz help?

Tell your story

• First-person tales of experimental innovators
• First-person tales of conceptual innovators
• First-person tales of those who are unsure

What to expect ...

... if you’re an experimental innnovator

• In youth
• In middle age

... if you’re a conceptual innnovator

• In youth
• In middle age

Seekers and finders in different disciplines

• Painting
• Poetry
• Novels
• Film
• Science
• Invention and business

 

	Experimental innovator: Alfred Hitchcock		Conceptual innovator: Orson Welles.
	Experimental innovator: Robert Frost		Conceptual innovator: T.S. Eliot