The Seven Characteristics of Positive Deviants are:

1.  Passion
 
2.  High Moral or Social Purpose
 
3.  Seeing Holes vs. the Net
 
4. Moving Towards, Not Away
 
5.  Rapid Cognition
 
6.  Checking the Edges
 
7.  Low Regard for Social Convention

1.  Passion.   The difference between a salesman and an entrepreneur is passion.  This is the primary characteristic that venture capitalists attempt to discern.   The best venture capitalists know that their ability to distinguish between being "sold" a vision rather than "enrolled" in a vision changes the probability for success.
 
Salespeople "sell" and when the going gets tough (as it usually does in a new venture) the salesperson moves on to something else.    The entrepreneur "enrolls" the venture capitalist in his vision and his passion.  When the going gets tough (as it usually does) the entrepreneur (also known as a Positive Deviant) doesn't quit; his passion drives him onward looking for alternative solutions to the tough situation.   Passion trumps difficulties if you are a Positive Deviant (entrepreneur).
 
2.  High Moral or Social Purpose.  Pharmacists who are Positive Deviants hold themselves as "part of a medical response team" that includes the doctor(s) and often the hospital. Pharmacists who are not Positive Deviants see themselves as fillers of prescriptions.    Similarly, clothing sales people who are Positive Deviants see themselves as "assisting clients in making an investment in clothes that express their uniqueness.   Non-deviant salespeople view their role as selling clothes.
 
Positive Deviants have a "meta" perspective of their role or mission in life.  This mission includes something greater than themselves, something that propels their behavior.   Positive Deviants don't "work" for a living; they are driven through life on a special mission that is much larger than earning a living.   It's the story of the two stone masons who were building a church:  When asked what they were doing, one said he was a stone mason working on a church; the other (the Positive Deviant) said he was part of a special team that was building a great cathedral.   Which one do you think is having a more enjoyable time?
 
3.  Seeing Holes vs. the Net.  When presented with a fishnet, the traditional behavior is to focus on the net.  As a general rule, a Positive Deviant will focus on the hole.   The Positive Deviant asks, "What are the possibilities?"  Positive Deviants see the fishnet as an "opportunity" to break the traditional conceptual pattern; they are convinced that there is more than one right answer.   To find the "second" and "third" right answer requires a change in perspective. That is what a Positive Deviant does; he or she consciously looks for multiple "right" answers. 
 
To optimize the number of possible solutions, they intentionally change their perspective.  For example, when airplanes came back from missions during WWII the "under the bell curve" types were counting the bullet holes and where they hit on the plane.   Assuming that the planes that didn't return safely probably were hit in vital areas than those that did return, the Positive Deviants' put the armor where the holes weren't!
 
4. Moving Towards, Not Away.  Positive Deviants move toward what they want not away from what they don't want .  After over 9,000 failed attempts to create a light bulb, an associate asked Tomas Edison how he could keep going after all his failures.  Edison looked at his associate in disbelief, "I'm not failing; I'm successfully finding what doesn't work."  Focusing on what you don't want creates an internal representation of the undesirable consequence.   For example, focusing on the thought, "I don't want to be seen as a salesperson or I don't want to be too pushy" is focusing on what is not wanted.  This is a non-resourceful state; it is reactive not proactive. Positive Deviants focus on what is possible, what is desired.   All acts are held in the context of moving toward success.  Positive Deviants, like Edison, hold every activity as a step toward actualizing their vision.
 
5.  Rapid Cognition.   In almost any situation, the Positive Deviant is able to move from "micro" to "macro" rapidly.  If their car breaks down the Positive Deviant goes immediately to the "macro" (need transportation) and then to the micro (use cell to call nearest Hertz rental office to request a pick up).   While almost everyone does the "micro/macro" dance, it is the speed and duration of the dance that differentiates a Positive Deviant from those under the bell curve.   The Positive Deviant intentionally "perturbs" their system knowing that it will increase the likelihood of a breakthrough.  A non-Positive Deviant tends to loop through the same "micro/macro" track, grooving it deeper and deeper rather than moving quickly to the next song—a song that might be more appropriate for this particular situation.
 
6.  Checking the Edges.  Consciously or unconsciously the Positive Deviant is continually checking the edge for anything that will sharpen their focus.   As Steven Covey says, "They are sharpening their saw." They are passionately refining their technique by exploring (learning) what's happening on the fringe/edge.  The Positive Deviant understands that today's models and theories can be quickly supplanted by unfamiliar noise on the fringe/edge.   Positive Deviants are acutely listening for both the Paul Reveres (calls from the fringe/edge) and the Perfect Storm (several unlikely events occurring at once that create a powerful unexpected event/outcome). They do their best to anticipate the future rather than react to it.
 
7.  Low Regard for Social Convention.  For the Positive Deviant, following rules creates ruts.  The Positive Deviant follows an "internal compass" that is not easily swayed by traditional convention.   "All the dogs barking up the wrong tree doesn't make it the right one." is a Positive Deviant's motto.
 
Some people, even in familiar surroundings, have difficulty identifying north from south, or east from west. Others have an internal compass that, even in less familiar environs, guides them in the direction they need to go.   Positive Deviants seem to have this navigational, Ley-Line like ability; Positive Deviants tap into energies which heighten their consciousness. Observationally, it gives the impression of meta-sensing.   This internal heuristic method does not include social convention as part of its navigational process. 


In Watts Wacker's book The Deviant's Advantage, he points out that there is a very predictable process with anything new.   It always starts at the Fringe, then moves to the Edge, and then to the Realm of the Cool , then to The Next Big Thing and, finally to Social Convention.   Watts points out that not everything that starts on the Fringe makes it to Social Convention.   However, everything that is at Social Convention was once on the Fringe.  (The Deviant's Advantage: How Fringe Ideas Create Mass Markets)
 
Positive Deviance is no longer on the Fringe/Edge; it has moved to the Realm of the Cool.  How do I know?  There is an Harvard Business Review: Your Company's Secret Change Agents and the Ford Foundation has funded a Positive Deviance Initiative at Tufts University in Boston.  When the concept of Positive Deviance reaches both Harvard and the Ford Foundation it is no longer on the fringe/edge.   We are now in the Realm of the Cool.   The probability of Positive Deviance being a major force has dramatically increased.

I feel confident that together, as part of The Positive Deviant Network, we are riding the crest of a very big wave.   I believe the synergies of DyVal Creation, Network Science and Knowledge Harvesting, within the context of Positive Deviancy, are keys to 21st Century success.