Why Innovators Make Terrible Firefighters

Why Innovators Make Terrible Firefighters

Executives and managers in corporations are like fire fighters, rushing around to fix urgent problems like angry customers, major product failure, or quality issues. However, fire fighting is poor for innovation because it is focused on restoring order and returning to the status quo. Fire fighting is about convergence, while innovation is about divergence. Innovation activities become overwhelmed and subsumed into fire fighting, since that’s where the experience and glory lies. Divorcing the concepts of fire fighting and innovation, demanding more innovation, and making it as rewarding as firefighting are the solutions.

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What's He Doing?

The author is leaving their corporate job to focus on developing their personal brand, Brainzooming.

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Why Big Companies Are Losing When It Comes To Disruptive Innovation

Why is it difficult for big corporations to establish and maintain innovation strategies? The innovator's dilemma arises when companies have to focus on sustaining innovation rather than disruptive innovation. They need to find ways to transcend this dilemma and allocate resources to both sustain and innovate.

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John Bessant on Why Innovation is About Connections

John Bessant on Why Innovation is About Connections

Innovation Professor John Bessant emphasizes the need to weave more connections into innovation networks, calling it 'spaghetti innovation'. New tools and roles, such as brokers and scouts, are necessary.

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