We recently noted that not only has innovation not peaked, but we believe this will be the most innovative decade in human history and recent comments from our LinkedIn group are in agreement. However, we can't just sit comfortably and take this as fact; complacency is the enemy of innovation, companies and individuals need to continue to take chances.
Three recent posts on 15inno by Stefan Lindegaard highlighted this theme for me, showing me (at least!) three reasons to keep taking innovation chances.
1. Even innovation mainstays risk being overtaken by more nimble competitors.
In "Why P&G No Longer Leads Open Innovation" Lindegaard writes "You can get complacent or you might start protecting your position too much. The latter could result in a behavior that is too defensive, which could lead to not investing enough in staying ahead of the competition."
2. In a changing world, you can't rely on opportunities coming to you the way they once did
In "Are Universities, Tech Transfer Units Open Innovation Losers?" Lindegaard notes that complacency may be challenging the university space as well, writing "many universities are still stuck in an old-times mentality or structure making them believe that they can just make their assets publicly known, set the terms and wait for the big companies to come begging for access to their assets."
3. Even Innovation Programs Can Become Predictable
Lastly, in his January 8th piece on "The Future State of Open Innovation" he writes "Too often, [corporate innovation champions] are playing catch up rather than trying to make their organization competitively unpredictable by using the innovation toolbox." Getting stuck on one way of managing innovation or generating ideas is apt to mire you in some of the same problems your company faced before embracing an innovation program. Keep taking chances and evolving to embrace new developments, and don't get hung up on the buzzwords.
Lindegaard is a prolific resource on innovation; his site, www.15inno.com, is always an excellent read and at the upcoming Front End of Innovation EMEA conference, Lindegaard will be presenting "Using Social Media for Innovation Efforts." I'm looking forward to being challenged to greater innovations then.
Register now to join Stefan Lindegaard and other innovation leaders at the Front End of Innovation EMEA. Save 15% off the standard rate by mentioning code: FEI13BLOG
Michelle LeBlanc is a Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a
specialization in marketing. She is the voice of the Front End of Innovation EMEA event on twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn