Earlier this week, Faisal Hoque [3] wrote an interesting essay for Fast Company called Why Innovation Fails [4].

I brought that story to Facebook and Twitter, with this request: Finish this sentence: "Innovation fails because ______________." [5] 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 [6]
• Innovation fails because of ineffective communication. - Matt Jenkins [7]
• Innovation fails because people fail to plan for its success. - James George [8]
• Innovation fails because there hasn't been enough research & development. - Des Marie [8]
• Innovation fails because businesses don't set aside time for idea generation and don't possess the tools to generate ideas. - Greg Alder [9]
• Innovation fails because of lack of resources. - Moritz Roos [10]
• Innovation fails because Apple sues everyone. - Mike Burglund [11]
• Innovation fails because of government interference. - Greg Duggan [5]
• Innovation fails because it is rarely recognized. - Anthony Lombardo [12]
• Innovation fails because nostalgic illusions die hard. - Eileen Irizarry [13]
• Innovation fails because people fear change. - David Grund [14]
• Innovation fails because people fear stepping outside of their comfort zones. - Jenn Maffeo [15]
• Innovation fails because someone had too little coffee that day. - Christopher Bogar [16]
• Innovation fails because too much significance is placed on the end result instead of the process. - Carm Tang Nian [17]
• Innovation fails because it's focused on the designer, not the user. - Rick Liebling [18]
• Innovation fails because of gatekeepers. - Bryan James [19]
• nnovation fails because of shortsighted leadership. - Megan H. [20]
• Innovation fails because of risk aversion. - Irakli Nadareishvili [21]
• Innovation fails because fear gets in the way. - Pete Shelly [22]
• Innovation fails because of a lack of courage. People choose a slow death over the potential for a breakthrough. - Brandon Smith [23]
• Innovation fails because you take no for an answer. - Michael Felden [24]
• Innovation fails because people aren't will to fail over and over and over until they get it right. - Beth Sanders [25]
• Innovation fails when the experience & lessons learned of other innovators are ignored. - Dana Gold [26]
• Innovation fails because of arrogance anywhere in the process. - Mair Dundon [27]
• Innovation fails because it implies decisions made by the current executives were wrong. - Tom Russell [28]
• Innovation fails because the term itself is abused to the point of meaninglessness. - Scott Berkun [29]
• Innovation fails because of bureaucracy. - Aldi Firdaus [30]
• Innovation fails because of lack of agility. - Lauren Wyka [31]
• Innovation fails because of lack of marketing. - Cole Fox [32]
• Innovation fails because people don't ask the right questions. - Dylan Chatterjee [33]
• Innovation fails because we too often ask the wrong questions and end up solving the wrong problems. - Austin Leach [34]
• Innovation fails because it isn't solving an immediate problem. - Phipps [35]
• Innovation fails because it enhances a feature but does not address a need. - Vince Rodriguez [36]
• Innovation fails because of unexpected variables. - Karen Marie Deneau [37]
• Innovation fails because of lack of conviction. - Sanjaya Padhi [38]
• Innovation fails because we forget to listen and learn as we innovate. - Rajasvini Bhansali [39]
• Innovation fails because of complacency. - Ed Glenn [40]
• Innovation fails because it's not seen as corporate culture, but more as a one-time shot. - Johan Jang [41]
• Innovation fails because the market is not ready to accept change. - Chris Van Dusen [42]
• Innovation fails because every original thought is not innovative. - Sonja Mack [43]
• Innovation fails because a one million dollar idea has a one dollar execution. - M.R. [44]
• Innovation fails because most organizations are not equipped to handle failure. - Matt Hunt [45]
• Innovation fails because of belief in the phrase, "This is how it's always been done." - Ange [46]
• Innovation fails because of the the phrase "Why aren't others doing it?". - Jason Brown [47]
• Innovation fails because employers second guess the experts they hired to do a particular job. - Jacob Bergmeir [48]
• Innovation fails because the innovation itself is ahead of its time. - Aaron M. Sherman [49]
• Innovation fails because too many focus on the bottom line rather than on the product and the users. - Andrew E. Mauney [50]
• Innovation fails because capitalism is more concerned with quarterly reports showing a profit than it is with improving the human condition. - Justin Brooks [51]
• Innovation fails because people want it to make money too soon. - Ben Fullerton [52]
• Innovation fails because managers/businesses don't give the right people the time/space/budget to support success. - Simon Heath [53]
• Innovation fails because of lack of curiosity. - Justin Calingasan [54]
• Innovation fails because of lack of follow through. - Kumar Kandaswamy [55]
• Innovation fails because those in power confuse leadership with management. - Andrew Robinson III [56]
• Innovation fails because people refuse to realize that the stability of today will become the stagnancy of tomorrow. - Stephen Jakubowski [57]
• Innovation fails because we fail to adequately define what "success" is or would look like. - Alfredo Faubel [58]
• Innovation fails because it's seen as a silver bullet. - Hunter Pechin [59]
• Innovation fails because it threatens those in the existing power structure. - Shari Ballard [60]
• Innovation fails because it's not incentivized. - Andrew Mutka [61]
• Innovation fails because of lack of focus. - Jason Mogus [62]
• Innovation fails because of unnecessary complexities. - Christine M. Vellah [63]
• Innovation fails because of top-down decision making. - Brian Rubin [64]
• Innovation fails because of groupthink. - Molly Keating [65]
• Innovation fails when it's solely the job of the innovation/R&D department. - Sheera Gendzel [66]
• Innovation fails because project managers run the company. - [67]
• Innovation fails because we place novelty over practicality. - Auggy Kim [68]

Keep your ideas coming, and we'll keep updating this article.

[Image: Flickr user Andre Roberto Doreto Santos [69]]