Most of us understand that innovation is enormously important. It's the only insurance against irrelevance. It's the only guarantee of long-term customer loyalty. It's the only strategy for out-performing a dismal economy.
Interpretation
Innovation is vital for relevance and long-term success in business.
In this quote, Gary Hamel emphasizes the critical role of innovation in maintaining competitiveness and relevance in today's fast-paced world. He argues that without continuous innovation, businesses risk becoming irrelevant, lose customer loyalty, and may struggle to thrive in a poor economic environment. Thus, innovation is presented not only as a strategy for growth but as a necessary foundation for enduring success.
In practice
During a business seminar, to highlight the need for continuous improvement.
The real damper on employee engagement is the soggy, cold blanket of centralized authority. In most companies, power cascades downwards from the CEO. Not only are employees disenfranchised from most policy decisions, they lack even the power to rebel against egocentric and tyrannical supervisors.
The biggest barriers to strategic renewal are almost always top management's unexamined beliefs.
To create an organization that's adaptable and innovative, people need the freedom to challenge precedent, to 'waste' time, to go outside of channels, to experiment, to take risks and to follow their passions.
If customer ignorance is a profit centre for you, you're in trouble.
It doesn't matter much where your company sits in its industry ecosystem, nor how vertically or horizontally integrated it is - what matters is its relative 'share of customer value' in the final product or solution, and its cost of producing that value.
The single biggest reason companies fail is they overinvest in what is, as opposed to what might be.
If every effect of any new products or methods were required to be known before they could be produced and marketed, they would not be true innovations - and thus not represent new knowledge of what people would like, if offered.
There's a silly notion that failure's not an option at NASA. Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.
The thing about inventing is you have to be both stubborn and flexible. The hard part is figuring out when to be which.
Innovation is not born from the dream, innovation is born from the struggle
Want to increase innovation? Lower the cost of failure.
Do you know what my favorite renewable fuel is? An ecosystem for innovation.
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