This page talks about how the Average Age at which Innovators do most of their productive work has increased over the past century. The same study also suggests that very few innovations are done by people under 27 and over 50.

Is it really so? In the world of Sergey Binn and Larry Page (Google founders), do you really have to be a certain age to be an effective Innovator? There will always be mavericks who will change the world at 25, but remember- Extreme Innovation is about repeatability in results, not only individual genius. So what governs the Innovation effectiveness of the smart but averagely talented Innovator?

There are (at least) 3 things we have to keep in mind while answering this: Domain Knowledge, Personal Maturity and having enough successes or failures behind you to learn the nuances of innovation. Clearly, the total amount of knowledge in various domains has increased substantially in the last few years, so one would expect the average age to increase.

What about the other two factors? The following questions are relevant:

1. Can something be done to train potential innovators in crucial skills early on (not in business schools)? Can we begin to train schoolchildren in relevant skills so they have a better chance of innovating early? This story talks about how school and college education is the key to a innovative workforce for the US, and it applies equally to all nations.
2. Is there a particular way to teach various domains so that children are more likely to innovate in them? For instance, a more practical, reality-based and experiment oriented approach would ensure that children have a more active learning. See this excellent online game, for instance, which teaches schoolchildren entrepreneurship.