[Again, curvy]
Gijs van Wulfen (profile here) posted something elsewhere, which I bluntly copy:
Innovation is difficult. You are not the only one who thinks it’s a challenge. It has been a struggle for me the last 25 years as manager, consultant, facilitator and as founder of the FORTH innovation method. That’s why I love it actually. I love to do difficult things. My personal goal is to make innovation less complex so others will be able to innovate their product – and service portfolios and organizations – themselves.
As one of the first Linkedin Influencers I have written more than 80 posts about innovation the last sixteen months. Last week I reread them all to identify my most essential insights. Some are provoking. Others are simplifying. Here’s a list of quotes from my LinkedIn innovation articles. Please use them to lead your organizations in innovation:
- In the long run a company cannot survive on doing the same things better and cheaper.
- Most managers are like dogs. They bark at what they don’t know.
- Managers say yes to innovation only if doing nothing is a bigger risk.
- Continuous innovation is bullshit. You only innovate when you have to.
- Organizations frustrate innovative employees.
- Starting innovation is like a child starting to walk. Learn to love the struggle!
- If there’s no urgency innovation is considered as playtime.
- Most people only innovate when they have to. Pick the right moment.
- Innovators need the patience of a hunter to wait for a shot that you’re sure you can make.
- Never start innovation with an idea. You will fall in love with it. But love is blind.
- A big idea is a new simple solution for a relevant problem or dream.
- The best innovators are need seekers.
- The problem of brainstorms is the inability of people to let go of the old ideas.
- If you don’t get new insights you won’t get new ideas.
- For most companies evolutionary ideas are quite revolutionary.
- You can invent on your own, but in an organization you can never innovate alone!
- Think outside the box and present your idea inside the box otherwise nothing will happen.
- Innovators should bring back new business not new ideas.
- Nobody buys innovation from a clown so bring back a new business case.
- The voice of the customer is your best support for a new concept.
- Innovators should stop writing plans. Innovation is learning by doing.
- Innovation does not stop at the first “No”. That’s the moment it really starts.
- Less creative ideas are better because they have a higher chance of becoming reality.
- An organization is just like a herd. Focus on the slowest animals. When they start running too your organization really gets innovative.
So here were 24 of my essential insights about innovation. I hope some of them are helpful to you. As I promised 25 insights please do me a favor and share with us, as a comment, your own essential insight about innovation as number 25……..
And yes indeed, I’d like to hear your number 25, too.
