Discover your unique innovator’s Sensory Profile.

I had a most enjoyable and rewarding conversation last week on Innovation and Ecosystem design. It was partly through this conversation with Margot Nijkamp-Diesfeld and Rick Wielens of the Eco System Thinking Institute (ESTI), based in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, that we got into the subject of creating different workshop concepts to stimulate those attending and draw out their greater awareness.

The idea of using all our sensory experiences came up, and I started to think, is there such a thing as having an innovator’s sensory profile? Would they be unique and help to unleash your inner innovator?

Should innovators be more attuned to details, nuances and changes in their environment, potentially allowing them to gather and process information uniquely to generate new insights and make more significant connections?

Over two posts, firstly here, I want to outline what might be in the attributes of an innovator’s sensory profile and in the second post following, the dynamics between sensory awareness and cognitive functions to realize the interconnected nature in seeing the shaping of our worlds in new and potentially radically different ways.

Words of caution if you consider building Sensory Profiles

However, it’s crucial to emphasize that innovation is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon. Even if heightened sensory profiles were a universal characteristic among innovators, it wouldn’t be the sole factor driving innovation. Other cognitive abilities, such as critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving skills, and the ability to connect disparate ideas, also play significant roles in the innovative process.

Furthermore, innovation is influenced by various external factors, including social, cultural, economic, and technological contexts. The interplay of different skills, traits, and circumstances contributes to the diversity of approaches and outcomes in the field of innovation.

In reality, there is no one-size-fits-all profile for innovators. People can be innovative in different ways, drawing on various abilities and characteristics, but they can provide valuable building blocks for developing an innovator’s DNA.

Here’s the basic building blocks of a potential innovator’s sensory profile based on these attributes:

1. Detail-Oriented: Innovators with heightened sensory profiles may pay close attention to details, noticing subtle nuances that others might overlook. This attention to detail could be crucial in identifying opportunities and understanding complex systems.
2. Environmental Awareness: Innovators may be highly aware of their surroundings, allowing them to recognize emerging patterns, gaps, or opportunities within their environment. This heightened awareness could contribute to their ability to navigate and adapt to changing circumstances.
3. Uniqueness in Thinking: Innovators might have a tendency to think differently and approach problems from unique perspectives. This could involve connecting seemingly unrelated concepts or viewing familiar ideas in novel ways.
4. Quick Pattern Recognition: With an enhanced ability to perceive and process information, innovators may be adept at quickly recognizing patterns, trends, and potential disruptions. This skill could enable them to stay ahead of the curve in their respective fields.
5. Extended Cognitive Effort: Innovators may exhibit perseverance and a willingness to engage in extended cognitive efforts. This could involve thinking deeply about problems, exploring various possibilities, and dedicating time to associate meaning to information.
6. Openness to Information: Innovators may be characterised by a heightened receptiveness to incoming information and knowledge. They may be curious, open-minded, and eager to explore new ideas, allowing them to integrate diverse sources of information into their creative processes.

It’s important to note that while these characteristics can contribute to innovation, they are not exclusive to innovators, nor are they the only factors at play. As I have outlined above, Innovation is a multifaceted process influenced by a combination of cognitive abilities, personality traits, external factors, and the specific context in which individuals operate.

What about sensory being even more central to innovation discovery?

If we emphasize the centrality of sensory perception in the profile of innovators, we can refine the characteristics to highlight the role of heightened sensory abilities.

In building out a sensory profile, innovators with a focus on sensory acuity (vision and thought) might exhibit the following traits, which can be recognized and even progressively evaluated, taking out the basic building blocks further:

1. Hyper-Detailed Observation: Innovators pay extraordinary attention to details, showcasing a heightened ability to observe and analyze their surroundings.
2. Enhanced Pattern Recognition: Their sensory acuity enables quick and accurate recognition of patterns within their immediate environment and broader contexts.
3. Sensitivity to Changes: Innovators with heightened sensory profiles may be particularly sensitive to environmental changes, allowing them to detect subtle shifts and adapt rapidly.
4. Multi-Sensory Integration: They integrate information from multiple senses, facilitating a holistic understanding of situations and problems.
5. Creative Sensory Associations: Innovators might use their sensory perceptions creatively, forming unique associations between sensory inputs and conceptual ideas.
6. Adaptive Response to Stimuli: The heightened sensory awareness contributes to a more adaptive response to stimuli, fostering agility and responsiveness to emerging challenges.
7. Innovative Problem Solving: They leverage their sensory acuity to identify novel solutions to problems, thinking “outside the box” and considering unconventional approaches.
8. Heightened Curiosity: A natural curiosity is driven by a desire to explore and understand the world through enhanced sensory experiences.

It’s essential to recognize that this profile is a conceptual exploration based on the assumption that heightened sensory perceptions are central to innovation. Innovators come from diverse backgrounds and possess a wide range of skills and attributes. While sensory acuity does play a role in specific innovative processes, combining it with other cognitive abilities and external factors also significantly contributes to the overall innovative capacity of individuals.

So where would we place Sensory acuity or awareness, alongside or ranked in broader cognitive abilities and capacity to learn, absorb and interpret?

Sensory acuity or awareness can be considered a foundational aspect in the capacity to learn, absorb, and interpret information. It interacts with and complements broader cognitive functions. Here’s how you might consider placing sensory acuity in relation to other cognitive abilities:

It’s important to note that these are interconnected, and cognitive processes are highly integrated in the brain. Sensory awareness is a crucial component, providing the initial data that feeds into and interacts with various cognitive functions.

The specific balance and interaction between these elements can vary among individuals based on factors such as personality, experience, and context.

Building the interplay between sensory awareness and the capacity to learn, absorb, and interpret information:

Putting a little more clarity in descriptions and roles these can play:

1. Foundational Sensory Awareness:
   • Description: The ability to perceive information through the senses (sight, hearing, touch, etc.).
     • Role: Serves as the fundamental input for cognitive processes, offering raw data about the external environment.
2. Perceptual Processing:
   • Description: The processing and integration of sensory information to form coherent perceptions.
     • Role: Transforms raw sensory data into meaningful perceptions, allowing individuals to recognize patterns, identify objects, and understand their surroundings.
3. Cognitive Abilities:
   • Description: Higher-order cognitive functions encompassing memory, attention, executive functions, and problem-solving.
     • Role: Build upon sensory input to organize, analyze, and make decisions based on information. For example, memory enables the retention of past sensory experiences, attention directs focus to relevant sensory cues, and problem-solving applies cognitive strategies to address challenges.
4. Learning and Adaptability:
   • Description: The capacity to acquire new knowledge, skills, and behaviours.
     • Role: Integrates sensory information with existing cognitive structures, facilitating the learning process. Sensory experiences provide the context for understanding new information, and adaptability involves adjusting cognitive frameworks based on evolving sensory input.
5. Creativity and Innovation:
   • Description: The ability to generate novel ideas, solutions, and perspectives.
     • Role: Draws on both sensory perceptions and higher cognitive functions. Creative thinking involves making unique connections between sensory experiences, envisioning possibilities beyond immediate perceptions, and leveraging cognitive flexibility to explore unconventional ideas.
6. Critical Thinking:
   • Description: The ability to analyze and evaluate information, arguments, and ideas.
     • Role: Informed by sensory input and higher cognitive processes, critical thinking assesses the validity and relevance of information. It involves scrutinizing sensory observations, considering multiple perspectives, and making reasoned judgments based on cognitive analysis.
7. Emotional Intelligence:
   • Description: The ability to recognize, understand, and manage one’s own emotions and the emotions of others.
     • Role: Integrates sensory and emotional cues. Emotional intelligence involves perceiving and interpreting emotional signals conveyed through facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language, contributing to effective social interactions.

Sensory awareness leads to heightened cognitive function

The dynamic interaction between sensory awareness and cognitive functions underscores the complexity of human cognition. The brain integrates sensory input with cognitive processes in a continuous feedback loop, shaping perceptions, thoughts, and actions.

This holistic perspective recognizes the interconnected nature of sensory experiences and higher cognitive functions in shaping our understanding of the world.

My next post goes even deeper into this interplay and dynamics between sensory and cognitive abilities to be aware of and build out.

* Researched and explored with the help of ChatGPT