Tina Seelig: The 6 Characteristics of Truly Creative People

Determined not to just write just another book on creativity, Stanford professor Tina Seelig painstakingly researched what makes good ideas spring forward. The result is her "innovation engine," a special mix of six characteristics like attitude, resources and environment.

But the special concoction of forces that makes our ideas come to life is nothing with out the willingness to fail. "Most call it failure, but we scientists just call it data," she says. The most creative organizations and people embrace experimentation to get the needed data to determine they're on to something.

"Workers are puzzle builders, they get stuck when missing a piece," she says. Truly creative people "are quilt makers — they can fit anything together."