Melissa A. Schilling is the John Herzog Family professor of management and organizations at New York University's Stern School of Business, and one of the world's leading experts on innovation. Her textbook, Strategic Management of Technological Innovation (now in its fifth edition), is the number one innovation strategy text in the world, and is available in seven languages. Dr. Schilling is also a coauthor of Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach, now in its 12th edition and one of the world's leading strategic management textbooks in the world. Professor Schilling's doctorate in strategic management is from the University of Washington where her dissertation research analyzed technology standards battles in high technology industries. She sought answers to questions such as "How and why are dominant technologies chosen in 'winner-take-all' industries?" and "How do managers make the difficult choice between protecting their technologies with patents or copyrights, versus rapidly disseminating them to build support for their technologies?" This work positioned her on the forefront of research on innovation strategy, with expertise on industries such as smartphones, computers, software, and video games. Dr. Schilling subsequently expanded her research to include other high technology industries such as biotech, renewable energy, and electric vehicles. Her articles on innovation, creativity, alliances, and modularity have appeared in leading journals such Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Management Science, Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, Research Policy, and Harvard Business Review.

From historical figures such as Marie Curie to contemporaries such as Steve Jobs, a handful of innovators have changed the world. What made them so spectacularly inventive? Melissa A. Schilling, one of the world's leading experts on innovation, looks at the lives of seven creative geniuses--Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Elon Musk, Dean Kamen, Nicola Tesla, Curie, and Jobs--to identify the traits and quirks that led them to become breakthrough innovators. Though all innovators possess incredible intellect, intellect alone does not create a serial innovator. There are other very strong commonalities: for instance, nearly all exhibit very high levels of social detachment. They all have extreme, almost maniacal, faith in their ability to overcome obstacles. And they have a passionate idealism that pushes them to work with intensity even in the face of criticism or failure. These individual traits would be unlikely to work in isolation--being unconventional without having high levels of confidence and direction, for example, might result in rebellious behavior that does not lead to meaningful innovation. Schilling reveals the science behind the convergence of traits that increases the likelihood of success, and shows us how to nurture and facilitate breakthrough innovation in our own lives.