Understanding how great innovators think is not the challenge. The real challenge is, how do to emulate them. To use a technical metaphor, you can’t copy “software” to the hard drive and expect it to work, it needs to be initiated and “loaded” into the cpu according to a specific set of rules.
Reflecting on the anecdotes of successful innovators and even a more careful analysis of how they think is never enough to embed their knowledge and ability into your own process. It's a good start though. Ultimately, it's your own DNA that will need to generate a personal innovation style, call it "opposable" or "a gestalt" or anything you want. It will have to be a cognitive tool that is yours alone, that can only be described to others but never really instilled in them.
see: http://rogerlmartin.com/library/books/the-opposable-mind/
