The myths

of

innovation

Friday AM KeynoteScott Berkun

Web Directions SouthSydney, Australia

Book goals:

1)What do we believe about innovation that isn’t true?

2)Why is the myth popular?

3)What is the truth and how can we apply it now?

The myths of innovation

1: The myth of epiphany2: We understand innovation history3: The sole inventor4: People like it when you innovate5: There is a secret method (shhh)

6: Good ideas are hard to find7: The best idea wins8: Solutions matter more than problems9: Your manager knows more than you do10: Innovation is good

The myths of innovation

1: The myth of epiphany

2: We understand innovation history

3: People like it when you innovate

What people focus on

The work that makes eureka possible

The work of innovation

The myths of innovation

1: The myth of epiphany

2: We understand innovation history

3: People like it when you innovate

Time

Business

Politics

Luck / Randomness

Timing

What friends think is cool

Charisma

International Economics

Wars & Disasters

Time

Something

is

happening!

Something

is

happening

Time

SORRY.

NOTHING HAPPENS.

Something

is

happening

Time

SORRY.

NOTHING HAPPENS.Flying cars

Virtual Reality everything

Supersonic commuter travel

Personal nuclear power

Anything on the cover of Wired magazine

Voice recognition, AI…

Time

Something

is

happening

Something

happened

Time

The myths of innovation

1: The myth of epiphany

2: We understand innovation history

3: People like it when you innovate

The diffusion of

innovation is a

social process,

based more on

psychology and

sociology than

technology.

Innovation distilled

1. Delegate

2. Take risks / make mistakes

3. Reward initiative

"As our business grows, it becomes increasingly necessary to

delegate responsibility and to encourage men and women to

exercise their initiative. This requires considerable tolerance.

Those men and women, to whom we delegate authority and

responsibility, if they are good people, are going to want to do

their jobs in their own way.

"Mistakes will be made. But if a person is essentially right, the

mistakes he or she makes are not as serious in the long run as

the mistakes management will make if it undertakes to tell

those in authority exactly how they must do their jobs.

"Management that is destructively critical when mistakes are

made kills initiative. And it's essential that we have many

people with initiative if we are to continue to grow.“

-William McKnight, 3M Chairman, 1948

The myths

of

innovation

Scott Berkunwww.scottberkun.com

Web Directions SouthSydney, Australia

Photo Credits

• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/127397• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/653541

• Rome: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Colosseum_in_Rome%2C_Italy_-_April_2007.jpg

• http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/gallery• http://www.learnhistory.org.uk/cpp/luddites.htm

• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/456847• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/618860

• http://www.sxc.hu/photo/780429 (Phone)• http://interactivetools.com/staff/dave/damons_office/