The Art of Selecting an Innovation Mentor
Killer Innovations with Phil McKinney
Release Date: 02/27/2024
Thinking 101: A Pause, A Reflection, And What Might Come Next
Killer Innovations with Phil McKinney
Twenty-one years. That's how long I've been doing this. Producing content. Showing up. Week after week, with only a handful of exceptions—most of them involving hospitals and cardiac surgeons, but that's another story. After twenty-one years, you learn what lands and what doesn't. You learn not to get too attached because you never know what's going to connect. But this one surprised me. Thinking 101—the response has been different. More comments. More questions. More people saying, "This is exactly what I needed." It's made me reflect on why I started this series. Years ago, I was in a...
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Mental Models - Your Thinking Toolkit
Killer Innovations with Phil McKinney
Before the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986, NASA management officially estimated the probability of catastrophic failure at one in one hundred thousand. That's about the same odds as getting struck by lightning while being attacked by a shark. The engineers working on the actual rockets? They estimated the risk at closer to one in one hundred. A thousand times more dangerous than management believed.¹ Both groups had access to the same data. The same flight records. The same engineering reports. So how could their conclusions be off by a factor of a thousand? The answer isn't about...
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Numerical Thinking: How to Find the Truth When Numbers Lie
Killer Innovations with Phil McKinney
Quick—which is more dangerous: the thing that kills 50,000 Americans every year, or the thing that kills 50? Your brain says the first one, obviously. The data says you're dead wrong. Heart disease kills 700,000 people annually, but you're not terrified of cheeseburgers. Shark attacks kill about 10 people worldwide per year, but millions of people are genuinely afraid of the ocean. Your brain can't do the math, so you worry about the wrong things and ignore the actual threats. And here's the kicker: The people selling you fear, products, and policies? They know your brain works this way....
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The Clock is Screaming
Killer Innovations with Phil McKinney
I stepped out of the shower in March and my chest split open. Not a metaphor. The surgical incision from my cardiac device procedure just… opened. Blood and fluid everywhere. Three bath towels to stop it. My wife—a nurse, the exact person I needed—was in Chicago dealing with her parents’ estate. Both had just died. So my daughter drove me to the ER instead. That was surgery number one. By Thanksgiving this year, I’d had five cardiac surgeries. Six hospitalizations. All in twelve months. And somewhere between surgery three and four, everything I thought I knew about gratitude…...
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Second-Order Thinking: How to Stop Your Decisions From Creating Bigger Problems (Thinking 101 - Ep 6)
Killer Innovations with Phil McKinney
In August 2025, Polish researchers tested something nobody had thought to check: what happens to doctors' skills after they rely on AI assistance? The AI worked perfectly—catching problems during colonoscopies, flagging abnormalities faster than human eyes could. But when researchers pulled the AI away, the doctors' detection rates had dropped. They'd become less skilled at spotting problems on their own. We're all making decisions like this right now. A solution fixes the immediate problem—but creates a second-order consequence that's harder to see and often more damaging than what we...
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Make Better Decisions When Nothing is Certain
Killer Innovations with Phil McKinney
You're frozen. The deadline's approaching. You don't have all the data. Everyone wants certainty. You can't give it. Sound familiar? Maybe it's a hiring decision with three qualified candidates and red flags on each one. Or a product launch where the market research is mixed. Or a career pivot where you can't predict which path leads where. You want more information. More time. More certainty. But you're not going to get it. Meanwhile, a small group of professionals—poker players, venture capitalists, military strategists—consistently make better decisions than the rest of us in exactly...
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You Think In Analogies and You Are Doing It Wrong
Killer Innovations with Phil McKinney
Try to go through a day without using an analogy. I guarantee you'll fail within an hour. Your morning coffee tastes like yesterday's batch. Traffic is moving like molasses. Your boss sounds like a broken record. Every comparison you make—every single one—is your brain's way of understanding the world. You can't turn it off. When someone told you ChatGPT is "like having a smart assistant," your brain immediately knew what to expect—and what to worry about. When Netflix called itself "the HBO of streaming," investors understood the strategy instantly. These comparisons aren't just...
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How To Master Causal Thinking
Killer Innovations with Phil McKinney
$37 billion. That's how much gets wasted annually on marketing budgets because of poor attribution and misunderstanding of what actually drives results. Companies' credit campaigns that didn't work. They kill initiatives that were actually succeeding. They double down on coincidences while ignoring what's actually driving outcomes. Three executives lost their jobs this month for making the same mistake. They presented data showing success after their initiatives were launched. Boards approved promotions. Then someone asked the one question nobody thought to ask: "Could something else...
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How to Improve Logical Reasoning Skills
Killer Innovations with Phil McKinney
You see a headline: "Study Shows Coffee Drinkers Live Longer." You share it in 3 seconds flat. But here's what just happened—you confused correlation with causation, inductive observation with deductive proof, and you just became a vector for misinformation. Right now, millions of people are doing the exact same thing, spreading beliefs they think are facts, making decisions based on patterns that don't exist, all while feeling absolutely certain they're thinking clearly. We live in a world drowning in information—but starving for truth. Every day, you're presented with hundreds of...
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Why Thinking Skills Matter More Than Ever
Killer Innovations with Phil McKinney
The Crisis We're Not Talking About We're living through the greatest thinking crisis in human history—and most people don't even realize it's happening. Right now, AI generates your answers before you've finished asking the question. Search engines remember everything so you don't have to. Algorithms curate your reality, telling you what to think before you've had the chance to think for yourself. We've built the most sophisticated cognitive tools humanity has ever known, and in doing so, we've systematically dismantled our ability to use our own minds. A recent MIT study found that students...
info_outlineNavigating the intricate realm of innovation is akin to sailing without a map, a challenging endeavor. That's where the invaluable role of an innovation mentor comes into play, acting as a guiding force. Picture them as friends always armed with the best advice, guiding you through launching your venture, shaking things up at work, or bringing your ideas to life. They serve as a reliable beacon, lighting the way and steering you through rough waters.
The Role of an Innovation Mentor
Discovering a mentor to navigate the innovation maze isn't merely about hiring an expert or a quick-fix coach. An innovation mentor is your adept ally in the professional world, brimming with experience and a genuine desire to elevate your innovative spirit. Beyond dictating actions, they're committed to the long haul, offering support and sharing insights to help you think creatively and turn ideas into reality.
What does having an innovation mentor mean? It's like teaming up with a seasoned companion who's been through innovation's challenges. They provide wisdom from their own experiences, offering guidance, cheering you through hurdles, and encouraging different ways of thinking. An innovation mentor doesn't just offer advice; they foster a connection and actively contribute to your growth.
It's more than a transaction; it's about building a connection, growing together, and achieving success as a team.
Complexity of Mentor Matching
Finding the right innovation mentor is akin to searching for a vintage gem in a thrift store—it requires sorting through a myriad, and outcomes can be hit or miss. Amidst the proliferation of fancy titles on LinkedIn, spotting a genuine mentor becomes challenging. The key is to sift through the noise and identify someone who genuinely stands out, connects with your values, and is as invested in your success as you are.
How do you know if a mentor is the key to your success or just another calendar entry? The answer lies in investing time to talk with potential mentors, relying on intuition. Impressive backgrounds and recommendations can sometimes be misleading; the best fit often surprises you—the individual whose values align with yours.
Personal Experience With Mentors and Mentees
Drawing from over 40 years of experience with my mentor, Bob Davis, it's evident that mentorship goes beyond transactions. It's a merging of shared values, mutual respect, and a commitment to learning. Commitment, honest communication, and mutual time investment are crucial for a rewarding experience when mentoring others. The connections formed and the growth of mentees continue to motivate me to be the best mentor.
Before hitting the search button for a mentor, reflect on why you are seeking one and what you hope to gain. It's about more than opening doors; it's finding a genuine connection and partnership to navigate innovation challenges successfully.
Qualities of an Innovation Mentor
A remarkable innovation mentor is more than a sideline cheerleader or someone who tells you what you want to hear. They're akin to a coach deeply involved in the game. They challenge your ideas, bring experience, root for your success, and ensure you stay on the right path.
The eight qualities you should look for in an innovation mentor are:
1. Visionary Insight: The best mentors possess a keen foresight that sees beyond current trends and anticipates future shifts. Like a seasoned chess player, they guide mentees through moves that position them for long-term success.
2. Empathy and Understanding: They deeply understand the mentee's journey and can relate to their experiences. This empathy establishes trust and a safe space for open dialogue and vulnerability.
3. Adaptability: Innovation is synonymous with change; a top-notch mentor navigates these waters with poise. They adapt their guidance to suit the mentee's evolving needs rather than sticking to rigid doctrines.
4. Unwavering Commitment: They are consistently available and invested in the mentee's growth, providing support through thick and thin. Their commitment is a stabilizing force amidst the chaos of innovation.
5. Skilled Communication: The ability to articulate complex ideas simply and to listen actively is paramount. They challenge mentees with questions that spark reflection and creative thinking.
6. Resilience in Failure: Mentors should celebrate successes and provide a resilient frame for overcoming setbacks. They teach that failure is not a setback but a necessary step toward innovation.
7. Ethical Integrity: They exemplify the highest standards of ethics as individuals and professionals, serving as role models for ethical decision-making in a challenging business landscape.
8. Network Savviness: An effective mentor brings a wealth of connections and understands the power of networking. They help mentees access crucial resources and opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach.
Benefits of Mentorship
A robust innovation mentorship goes beyond offering tips—it transforms your perspective, opening new paths. Here are some of the benefits that strong innovation mentorship can yield:
1. Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills: Mentorship elevates your ability to tackle complex problems by fostering critical thinking. Mentees develop sophisticated strategies to face challenges by observing and discussing approaches with a mentor experienced in innovative problem-solving.
2. Accelerated Professional Development: A mentor's guidance can fast-track a mentee's career progression by identifying and honing key skills essential for advancement, often leading to opportunities that may have taken years to materialize organically.
3. Expanded Professional Network: Mentors often introduce their mentees to a vast network of industry professionals, providing connections and the social capital necessary to thrive in competitive environments.
4. Increased Confidence: With a mentor's support, mentees are encouraged to step outside their comfort zones, leading to a significant boost in self-assurance, which is crucial when asserting ideas and taking on leadership roles.
5. Heightened Innovation and Creativity: Exposure to a mentor's creative process and innovative thinking spurs mentees to explore new ideas and approaches, fostering innovation within themselves and their teams.
6. Better Risk Management: Learning from a mentor's past experiences helps mentees navigate risks and understand the nuances of risk-taking, which is essential for innovation.
7. Sustained Learning and Growth: Mentorship instills a continuous learning mindset, ensuring that the quest for knowledge and improvement doesn't end with formal education but becomes a lifelong journey.
8. Holistic Personal Development: A good mentor understands the importance of balance and can guide mentees in areas beyond professional life, contributing to their overall well-being and personal fulfillment.
So, are you making a splash, or is it time to toss that pebble in the pond? Your mentor's influence has the potential to shape those ripples—choose wisely.
The Investment in Innovation Mentorship
Selecting a mentor is a significant decision akin to choosing a guru, your Yoda. They are the ones you'll turn to when your career hits turbulence, equipped with the map to guide you through it. However, it's not a one-time arrangement; you must be ready to introspect, invest effort, and face challenges. Mentorship is your shortcut to accelerated growth, providing skills for long-term success.
Mentorship is not just about receiving facts; it's about acquiring skills that empower you to thrive in the long run. The mentorship magic lies in imparting skills, not just facts. So, are you ready to dive into the mentorship pool? Choose wisely, put in the effort, and reap the benefits of a robust innovation mentor-mentee relationship.