Are we playing snakes and ladders with innovation?

Accenture's survey of 500 US executives reveals executives believe they have superior innovation skills, yet most struggle to generate the returns they seek from innovation investments. Six in 10 companies do not learn from past mistakes, while over two-thirds indicate their firms often miss opportunities to exploit underdeveloped areas or markets that can generate returns. Citing the lack of understanding of how those firms innovate, Accenture explores the potential of a one-size-fits-all approach to innovation that makes it harder to develop diverse approaches or appreciate the complexity required for transformational, revenue-generating ideas. Finally, Accenture shows that 82% of companies said they do not distinguish between incremental and large-scale innovation, while most respondents said their big innovation ideas went nowhere due to a lack of organizational support.