Innovative might be the one word most often applied to the best technology entrepreneurs, but the term actually encompasses an entire set of work ethics, according to John Kao (pictured), founder, chairman and chief executive officer of EdgeMakers Inc.

The image of innovation in the popular imagination as a light bulb suddenly shining over a person’s head is quite unlike the inventive process in real life, Kao stated during the Association for Corporate Growth Silicon Valley U.S. Trust GROW! Awards in Mountain View, California.

“Innovation’s really about a whole portfolio of disciplines,” Kao told Lisa Martin (@Luccazara), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile live streaming studio. (* Disclosure below.)

This portfolio includes: “Creativity, storytelling, design thinking, digital fluency, collaborative skills, emotional intelligence, cultural intelligence and entrepreneurship,” Kao said.

One rare, but very valuable trait for an entrepreneur is a flexibility and willingness to change when new information comes to light that borders on servility. “One of the problems with entrepreneurs is they tend to fall in love with their ideas or to tunnel into a particular perspective. They become experts at what they’re doing,” he said.

But love is blind, as they say. Becoming overly enamored with an idea can easily lead to failure in Silicon Valley, where constant pivoting has become a way of life, Kao explained.

Startup by the bootstraps

This complex blend of skills is best taught, or rather learned, through immersive experiences that most schools are not well outfitted to deliver, according to Kao. EdgeMakers is an organization operating in 11 countries with the goal of giving young people the innovative mindset “ahead of schedule,” Kao said.

“EdgeMakers is a combination of know-how and technology that’s distributing a learning experience globally,” he concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s independent editorial coverage of ACG Silicon Valley U.S. Trust GROW! Awards. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner at the ACG Silicon Valley U.S. Trust GROW! Awards. The conference sponsor, AGS-SV, does not have editorial oversight of content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE