There are several key characteristics of an innovator that make them successful, as demonstrated by notable innovators throughout history. There was the multifaceted nature of Leonardo da Vinci, the self-motivation of Louis Pasteur, the connections of Antoni Gaudi, the resilience of George Washington Carver, the bravery of Marie Curie, the dreaming spirit of Alberto Santos-Dumont, the persistence of Albert Einstein, and the research focus of Sergey Brin. These innovator traits played a crucial role in their ability to transform ideas into groundbreaking innovations.
Innovators throughout history have shared certain characteristics. Let me walk you through a few of them, and highlight some of their characteristics I believe allowed them to move from ideas to innovation.
Leonardo da Vinci, considered one of the brightest minds in history, often attributed the merit of being the founder of the high Renaissance, was multifaceted. He made discoveries in multiple areas, from the arts to war armament designs, instruments, machines, and even projects related to human anatomy.
The father of modern microbiology, Louis Pasteur, was self-motivated. He worked in chemistry, physics, mathematics, and bacteriology and its scientific developments, such as the germ theory of infectious diseases and pasteurization. He managed to "revolutionize the modern sterilization processes method by creating the Pasteurization method, and went on to develop the first vaccine for smallpox, saving countless lives.
Antoni Gaudi, the Catalan architect, wasn’t just inspired but was also well-connected. He impressed investors like Eusebi Güell, who later commissioned some of the most outstanding works of his repertoire, such as the Park and the crypt of the Church of Colònia Güell.
Agricultural scientist and inventor George Washington Carver was resilient. Born in the year before slavery was prohibited, he developed hundreds of products with peanuts, potatoes, and soybeans. In 1894, he became the first African American to obtain a degree in Science. And he was appointed a member of the Royal Society of Arts in England, one of the few Americans to receive this honor.
The mother of modern physics, Marie Curie, the Physical and mathematical scientist of Polish origin, was brave. She won two Nobel Awards: she was an innovator in a time when machismo and xenophobia were a constant, and she was also recognized as the first woman to be buried by her own merits in the Panteón de Paris.
Alberto Santos-Dumont, the Brazilian pioneer of innovation, was one of the few people who contributed significantly to the early development of aircraft—and he was a dreamer. He was young, rich, and single; he wanted more to determine the direction of his destiny that focused on innovations and adaptations made quickly. Because of this, in just over ten years of activities, Dumont was the one who contributed the most to the development of aeronautics.
Albert Einstein, one of the most recognized physicists of all time, was persistent. While working six days a week as a clerk at a patent office, he developed outstanding ideas about gravity and the speed of light. And in 1905, he wrote scientific papers which were admired by the scientific community after obtaining the approval of famous physicist Max Planck.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin, an American computer scientist of Russian origin, is a researcher. He worked with his partner during their Ph.D. to create algorithms and software that generated a practical data browser obtained on the Internet. Likewise, he and his wife, Anne Wojcicki, created 23Andme to allow people to analyze and compare their genetic maps.