The Truth About Innovation: Debunking Myths and Unleashing Creativity

1. World Innovation ForumEVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW ABOUT INNOVATION IS WRONGTom Peters/New York/0524.2006/Inno.new.LIST.0527

2. World Innovation Forum: Alt TitleYOU ONLY FIND OIL IF YOU DRILL WELLS

3. What “We” Know “For Sure” About InnovationBig mergers [by & large] don’t workScale is over-ratedStrategic planning is the last refuge of scoundrelsFocus groups are counter-productive“Built to last” is a chimera (stupid)Success kills“Forgetting” is impossibleRe-imagine is a charming idea“Orderly innovation process” is an oxymoronic phrase (= Believed only by morons with ox-like brains)“Tipping points” are easy to identify … long after they will do you any good“Facts” aren’tAll information making it to the top is filtered to the point of danger and hilarity“Success stories” are the illusions of egomaniacs (and “gurus”)If you believe the “cause & effect” memoirs of CEOs you should be institutionalized“Herd behavior” (XYZ is “hot”) is ubiquitous … and amusing“Top teams” are “Dittoheads”Statistically,CEOs have little effect on performance“Expert” prediction is rarely better than rolling the dice

4. Parallel universe/Exec Ed v res MBA End run regnant powers/JKC Find done deals-practicing mavericks/ Stone-ReGo Bell curves/2016 in 2006 Non-industry benchmarking Everything = Portfolio V.C.s all! Hot language/Wow-Astonish me-Insanely great-immortal-Make something great Lead customers/PW-Embraer Lead suppliers /Top decile R&D Weird alliances Mottos/Paul Arden (“Whatever You Think Think the Opposite”) Hire freaks/Enough weird people? Weird Boards!!!

5. CEO track record of Innovation (nobody starts at 45!) System/GE-Immelt “Strategic thrust overlay” Calendar Big Delta easier than Small Delta MBWA with freaks-weirdos/JKC MBWA/Boonies’ labs V.C.-formal/Intel Acquire weird Children’s crusade Old farts crusade Women’s crusade Go Global at any size Stop listening to customers Talent!/Unusual sources-Hire innovators-V.C.s Eschew giant mergers

6. Remember: scale economies max out early Assisted suicide! (“Built to last” = Chimera-snare-delusion) Burn your press clippings “Forgetting” “strategy” Fire all strategic planners Tempo! Final product bears little relation to starting notion Design! Design! Design! (“culture,” not program) All innovation: Pissed-off people Gut feel rules! Focus groups suck Weird focus groups okay Be-Do philosophy

7. Celebrations Culture-little as well as big Inno (“everyone-an-innovator”) Life = Wow Projects Acknowledge messiness-pursue serendipity (Blitzkrieg-Containers-Science-Jim Utterback) R.F.A. Culture of execution 4/40: decentralization, execution, accountability, 615AM EVP (S.O.U.B.)/Systems-process “un-design” Diversity for diversity’s sake Women-Women-Women/customers (they “are the market,” not a “segment”)-leaders Boomers-Geezers (“all the money”)

8. CRO (Chief Revenue Officer) “culture”/top-line obsessed CIO (Chief INNOVATION Officer) Laughter Facility-space configuration Experiments-prototypes “Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.” Bizarrely high incentives (& penalties) We are what we eat/We are who we hang out with (E.g.: Staff-Consultants-Vendors-Out-sourcing Partners/#, Quality-Innovation Alliance Partners-Customers-Competitors/who we “benchmark” against -Strategic Initiatives -Product Portfolio/LineEx v. Leap-IS/IT Projects-HQ Location-Lunch Mates-Language-Board)

9. “This is so simple it sounds stupid, but it is amazing how few oil people really understand that you only find oil if you drill wells.You may think you’re finding it when you’re drawing maps and studying logs, but you have to drill.” Source: The Hunters, by John Masters, Canadian O & G wildcatter