Defy Tradition

True innovators hate tradition, they want to defy it, Linkner said. However, it doesn't just have to be in the product or service - innovation can happen other places like the customer experience and in company meetings as well. For example, he showed how Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh started using window washers dressed up as super heroes to brighten a sick child's day.

"For you, the next time you're faced with a challenge, and we're faced with all the challenges all the time, big and small, our instinct might be to throw a lot of money or people or resources or bandwidth at the problem. I would throw creativity and innovation at it – you might end up with a better result," Linkner said.