Why Corporate Innovation Is So Difficult

Innovation, invention, and entrepreneurship are often conflated, but they are actually distinct with different challenges. Invention is the easiest, but it doesn't necessarily mean scaling the idea so others benefit, which is where entrepreneurship comes in. Corporate innovation faces significant barriers including past success, playing defense over offense, resource allocation and project prioritization, and rigidity of systems and decision making. Past success creates expectations for the future, making it difficult to do something new and different, while larger companies shift to a defensive mindset after achieving success. Additionally, corporate innovators face limited resources, and decision making and sustaining processes that make it difficult to convert a good idea into a viable product.