The Thread
Innovation Fails Because ______________.
How would you finish that sentence? Tell us -- we're adding your ideas to this list.
Earlier this week, Faisal Hoque wrote an interesting essay for Fast Company called Why Innovation Fails.
I brought that story to Facebook and Twitter, with this request: Finish this sentence: "Innovation fails because ______________." The responses were thought-provoking, and sometimes funny.
How would you finish that sentence? Tell us in the comments section below -- we'll add your ideas to this list, which I've distilled from some of the many thoughts we've received from Facebook and Twitter:
- Innovation fails because it's not executed properly. - Jason Zelich
- Innovation fails because of ineffective communication. - Matt Jenkins
- Innovation fails because people fail to plan for its success. - James George
- Innovation fails because there hasn't been enough research & development. - Des Marie
- Innovation fails because businesses don't set aside time for idea generation and don't possess the tools to generate ideas. - Greg Alder
- Innovation fails because of lack of resources. - Moritz Roos
- Innovation fails because Apple sues everyone. - Mike Burglund
- Innovation fails because of government interference. - Greg Duggan
- Innovation fails because it is rarely recognized. - Anthony Lombardo
- Innovation fails because nostalgic illusions die hard. - Eileen Irizarry
- Innovation fails because people fear change. - David Grund
- Innovation fails because people fear stepping outside of their comfort zones. - Jenn Maffeo
- Innovation fails because someone had too little coffee that day. - Christopher Bogar
- Innovation fails because too much significance is placed on the end result instead of the process. - Carm Tang Nian
- Innovation fails because it's focused on the designer, not the user. - Rick Liebling
- Innovation fails because of gatekeepers. - Bryan James
- nnovation fails because of shortsighted leadership. - Megan H.
- Innovation fails because of risk aversion. - Irakli Nadareishvili
- Innovation fails because fear gets in the way. - Pete Shelly
- Innovation fails because of a lack of courage. People choose a slow death over the potential for a breakthrough. - Brandon Smith
- Innovation fails because you take no for an answer. - Michael Felden
- Innovation fails because people aren't will to fail over and over and over until they get it right. - Beth Sanders
- Innovation fails when the experience & lessons learned of other innovators are ignored. - Dana Gold
- Innovation fails because of arrogance anywhere in the process. - Mair Dundon
- Innovation fails because it implies decisions made by the current executives were wrong. - Tom Russell
- Innovation fails because the term itself is abused to the point of meaninglessness. - Scott Berkun
- Innovation fails because of bureaucracy. - Aldi Firdaus
- Innovation fails because of lack of agility. - Lauren Wyka
- Innovation fails because of lack of marketing. - Cole Fox
- Innovation fails because people don't ask the right questions. - Dylan Chatterjee
- Innovation fails because we too often ask the wrong questions and end up solving the wrong problems. - Austin Leach
- Innovation fails because it isn't solving an immediate problem. - Phipps
- Innovation fails because it enhances a feature but does not address a need. - Vince Rodriguez
- Innovation fails because of unexpected variables. - Karen Marie Deneau
- Innovation fails because of lack of conviction. - Sanjaya Padhi
- Innovation fails because we forget to listen and learn as we innovate. - Rajasvini Bhansali
- Innovation fails because of complacency. - Ed Glenn
- Innovation fails because it's not seen as corporate culture, but more as a one-time shot. - Johan Jang
- Innovation fails because the market is not ready to accept change. - Chris Van Dusen
- Innovation fails because every original thought is not innovative. - Sonja Mack
- Innovation fails because a one million dollar idea has a one dollar execution. - M.R.
- Innovation fails because most organizations are not equipped to handle failure. - Matt Hunt
- Innovation fails because of belief in the phrase, "This is how it's always been done." - Ange
- Innovation fails because of the the phrase "Why aren't others doing it?". - Jason Brown
- Innovation fails because employers second guess the experts they hired to do a particular job. - Jacob Bergmeir
- Innovation fails because the innovation itself is ahead of its time. - Aaron M. Sherman
- Innovation fails because too many focus on the bottom line rather than on the product and the users. - Andrew E. Mauney
- Innovation fails because capitalism is more concerned with quarterly reports showing a profit than it is with improving the human condition. - Justin Brooks
- Innovation fails because people want it to make money too soon. - Ben Fullerton
- Innovation fails because managers/businesses don't give the right people the time/space/budget to support success. - Simon Heath
- Innovation fails because of lack of curiosity. - Justin Calingasan
- Innovation fails because of lack of follow through. - Kumar Kandaswamy
- Innovation fails because those in power confuse leadership with management. - Andrew Robinson III
- Innovation fails because people refuse to realize that the stability of today will become the stagnancy of tomorrow. - Stephen Jakubowski
- Innovation fails because we fail to adequately define what "success" is or would look like. - Alfredo Faubel
- Innovation fails because it's seen as a silver bullet. - Hunter Pechin
- Innovation fails because it threatens those in the existing power structure. - Shari Ballard
- Innovation fails because it's not incentivized. - Andrew Mutka
- Innovation fails because of lack of focus. - Jason Mogus
- Innovation fails because of unnecessary complexities. - Christine M. Vellah
- Innovation fails because of top-down decision making. - Brian Rubin
- Innovation fails because of groupthink. - Molly Keating
- Innovation fails when it's solely the job of the innovation/R&D department. - Sheera Gendzel
- Innovation fails because project managers run the company. -
- Innovation fails because we place novelty over practicality. - Auggy Kim
[Image: Flickr user Andre Roberto Doreto Santos]





