"4. Whistle blow while you work..."<p>I believe that the root of all innovation is allowing the people to speak. This is the end user, but even more importantly the employees. The reason that I believe this to be the case is because there are countless studies which prove that employees who have the ability to contribute will take an ownership stake in the company, combine this with a small equity position, and your innovation will indeed become a reality!
I love #6, about hourly goals. Almost every successful businessperson I've known was obsessed with their dashboard, whatever that was. Quarterly, monthly, and weekly were no good, it's already too late to do anything about it. Daily is good. Hourly is better. You always have your hand on the throttle of the business.<p>They understand that big successes don't suddenly happen. They are the result of many small successes that we make happen all day long.