In his book ‘How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day’, Gelb argues that in order to be creative, leaders need to think like the famous artist, innovator, and thinker Leonardo da Vinci. He opines that leaders must master the following seven principles of creativity: “curiosita” (curiosity and continuous learning); “dimostrazione” (learning from experience); “sensazione” (sensory awareness); “sfumato” (accepting and embracing uncertainty); “arte/scienza” (balancing art and science, or systemic thinking); “corporalita” (physical fitness and ambidexterity) and “connessione” (seeing the interconnectedness of everything).
Indeed, creativity and innovation are essential for the strategic performance of any organization. Leaders must be able to rethink innovation, organize and align their talent and assets.
Leaders must also be able to “uncover their blind spots.” They must declare 
their creative and innovation intent by being clear on where and how they will innovate as well as encouraging collaborative creation and fostering innovation within their organizations.
In essence, innovation is a collaborative process. This is the view of Keeley and Walters et al in their book ‘Ten Types of Innovation: The Discipline of Building Breakthroughs’ (2013).
There is no doubt that innovation is a discipline, not a mystery. It is a process that needs clear modes, mindsets, and methods. Furthermore, the primary forces that shape successful innovations are business, technology, design, and society.
Innovations need collaboration and teamwork. This is the view of Kumar in his book ‘101 Design Methods: A Structured Approach for Driving Innovation in Your Organization’. He concludes that the same generic innovation process, comprehensively conceived for observing, reframing, ideating, prototyping, and planning can be used to develop a wide variety of concepts like products, services, experiences, messages, channels, business models, or organizational strategies.
