After reading Scott Berkun’s excellent mega summary of 177 Myths of Innovation I was inspired to create a list of 177 truths of innovation, derived solely from reversing or negating the stated myths of innovation. Some of the results are interesting, others are obvious and a few are nicely provocative.
- Innovators had unhappy lives
- Innovators need others to succeed
- You don’t need to stay positive
- You can’t remember everything
- Companies of any size and any age innovate
- Many great ideas are needed
- It’s better to take risks
- Innovation is a full time activity
- You don’t need more new ideas
- Innovation is the whole company
- You don’t need to let loose
- Innovation isn’t radical departure
- Mistakes are cheap
- Detours are ok
- Innovation isn’t about creating new things
- Creativity can come from anyone
- Money isn’t a motivator
- Creativity isn’t fueled by time pressure
- Fear doesn’t force breakthroughs
- Collaboration beats competition
- Streamlining the organization and creativity have no relation
- Innovation can be managed
- People will use process
- There is a defined process
- Creativity isn’t stifled by excessive management
- Innovation isn’t about the technology
- More resources doesn’t equal more innovation
- Any size bang can count as success
- Innovation is predictable
- You can teach people to be more innovative
- You innovate anywhere, any time
- Product cycles are the same as they ever where
- You don’t need a chief innovation officer
- You don’t need to be like Google
- R&D investment doesn’t indicate your commitment to innovation
- Egotistical mavericks aren’t any more innovative than the rest of us
- Innovation doesn’t necessarily disrupt
- Innovation isn’t inherently good
- Innovation can be easy
- Innovation dies for any number of reasons
- Innovation is any industry
- Innovation isn’t inventing new product
- Innovation isn’t R&D
- Innovation is for little people
- Innovation is necessary
- The solitary genius isn’t responsible
- It’s not about the technology
- Innovation isn’t what’s ‘new to the world’
- Innovation can be managed
- Creativity and discipline fraternize well
- There is no epiphany
- We don’t understand the history of innovation
- There isn’t a method
- New ideas aren’t necessarily attractive
- No inventor works alone
- Good ideas can be easy to find
- Your boss doesn’t know more than you
- The best idea doesn’t necessarily win
- Problems and solutions are equally interesting
- Innovation isn’t always good
- Innovation applies to anything, not just technology and products
- Innovation can be a short term project
- Innovation happens intentionally
- It’s OK to lose track of the ball
- Failure is an option
- People don’t love innovators
- Innovators don’t necessarily solve problems
- Knowledge is not power
- You can’t predict innovation
- First place doesn’t always win
- Creativity doesn’t need to be fun
- Many ideas are bad
- Innovation isn’t entrepreneurship
- There is no creative imperative
- Technology doesn’t drive innovation
- Pursuit of innovation doesn’t guarantee it will come
- Innovation isn’t the result of a particular perspective (outside-in/inside-out)
- Good things can happen if you open up your business process
- You understand your business and IT better than a vendor
- Innovation isn’t constrained by your budget
- You can’t purchase innovation
- You don’t need a good new idea
- You won’t recognize a breakthrough
- Don’t think you can rest once the idea is implemented
- There is no eureka moment
- They won’t come just because you built it
- Innovation will continue in open and closed environments
- Pay has little effect
- The direction of innovation isn’t important (top vs. bottom)
- Innovation can be small hops
- Non-technical people innovate
- Innovation can happen on-site with regular people
- There isn’t a special breed of person who innovates
- Innovation isn’t about your ideas
- Great leaders can fail at innovation
- Effective innovators may work with the system
- Not everyone can be an innovator
- Real innovation happens both bottom-up and top-down
- Innovation can’t be embedded insight an organization
- It doesn’t take wholesale change to initiate innovation
- Innovation happens outside skunk works
- Innovation can be managed and orderly
- Companies in any stage can innovate
- Innovation can be taught
- You don’t need a stroke of genius for breakthrough innovation
- Innovation should happen outside of R&D
- Innovation doesn’t need to be risky
- Innovation isn’t about commercializing cutting edge technologies
- Innovation can be cheap
- Innovation can be quiet and focusing
- Creativity and innovation are different things
- Innovation is relevant to non-consumer companies
- Innovation doesn’t “just happen”
- The business value of innovation is simple to measure
- Innovation doesn’t require deep pockets, risk-embrace or bleeding edge technology
- Innovation isn’t random
- You don’t need to be a genius to innovate
- You can become an innovator
- Innovation happens outside of the R&D lab
- Technology doesn’t mean you’ll win
- Innovation isn’t about improved performance
- Your customer isn’t a critical source
- You don’t need to be an entrepreneur to do game changing innovation
- You can win by targeting small markets
- You don’t need to make big bets to innovate
- Innovation comes from regular people collaborating
- Innovation isn’t about a eureka moment
- Great innovations aren’t easily recognized
- We shouldn’t glorify eureka moments
- Legendary stories aren’t necessarily true
- We don’t tell myths about normal people and slowly evolving events
- You can ask customers what they need
- Slower, worse, more expensive
- Bringing disruptive innovations can be easy
- Successful innovation doesn’t require disruptive revolution
- You don’t have to be creative (egotistical) to be innovative
- Innovation isn’t expensive
- All industries are innovative
- Speed isn’t the key to success
- It isn’t all about creativity
- Innovation isn’t about motivation
- Innovation isn’t about the user
- Innovation isn’t about products and services
- Innovation is bad
- If you invest in something new you don’t increase your chances of windfall returns
- Individual innovative leadership can’t account for success
- The level of industry competition has nothing to do with the amount of innovation
- You can’t copy market leaders and retain competitive advantage
- It’s not what we do behind closed doors
- It doesn’t “just happen”
- You don’t need to reward innovation
- It isn’t about working harder
- Real innovation isn’t about adjacent possible
- You don’t need the best people
- It’s not about selecting the best ideas
- Innovation doesn’t equal creativity + ideas
- Innovation isn’t creating something new
- Innovation isn’t making a great product
- Fundraising doesn’t validate innovation
- Technical innovation doesn’t mean scalable and automated