The 177 Myths of Innovation: Mega web summary
The term “Myths of Innovation” has become popular on the web, but few of these articles link to each other, which is sad.
Somehow in all this talk about innovation many writers have forgotten inventions like web searches, links and footnotes to credit what others have done.
As a response I’ve compiled a chronological list of articles using the term. I’d like to make a definitive list of Innovation Myths and I’m happy to update this if you find more to add. Surprisingly these lists are all broadly written – none are comprised of specific invention stories that are fabrications.
I came up with the term independently in April of 2002 for a lecture at Microsoft that eventually became the book. I hadn’t heard the term before but it’s entirely likely someone else had used it for an article, paper or post somewhere. The earliest use I found online in creating this post is Veitch, below.
The Complete list of Innovation Myths
1/31/2001 Innovation Myths, Open Future, John Veitch
Innovators had happy lives
Innovators can succeed alone
You must stay positive
You can remember everything
6/30/2002, Innovation Survey, PriceWaterCooper, Frank Milton (pub date unverified)
Only small/new companies innovate
One great idea is all we need
It’s better to play safe
Innovation is a part-time activity
9/24/2004, The Seven Myths of Innovation, Financial Times, Sawhney/Wolcott
You need more new ideas
Innovation is a department
Let people loose
Innovation is a radical departure
Mistakes are costly
Avoid the detours
Innovation is about creating new things
12/1/2004, 6 Myths of Creativity, Fast Company, Bill Breen
Creativity comes from creative types
Money is a motivator
Time pressure fuels creativity
Fear forces breakthroughs
Competition beats collaboration
Streamline organization is a creative organization
12/2005, Innovation myths, Innovate on Purpose, Jeffrey Phillips
You can’t manage innovation
People won’t use processes
There’s no defined process
Too much management stifles creativity
2/2006, Excerpt From Innovation Handbook: A Roadmap to Disruptive Growth, Clayton Christensen/Scott Anthony
Innovation is all about technology
More resources equal more innovation
Only a big bang counts as a success
Innovation is random and unpredictable
You can’t teach people to be more innovative
2/3/2006, Top Ten Innovation Myths, Geoffrey Moore
We don’t innovate here no more
Product cycles are getting shorter
We need a chief innovation officer
We need to be more like Google
R&D investment indicates innovation commitment
Great innovators are usually egotistical mavericks
Innovation is inherently disruptive
It is good to innovate
Innovation is hard
When innovation dies, it’s because antibodies kill it
6/13/2006, The Myths About Innovation, The Straits Times, Atul Mathur
Innovation is for other industries
Innovation is inventing new product
Innovation is R&D
Innovation is for giants
Innovation is optional
6/06/2006, Five Innovation Myths, McKinney / Jim McNerney
It’s the solitary genius who is responsible
It’s all about technology
If it isn’t ‘new to the world’ it’s not innovation
Innovation can’t be managed
Creativity and discipline are mortal enemies
5/2007, The Myths of Innovation (the book), O’Reilly Media, Scott Berkun
The myth of epiphany
We understand the history of innovation
There is a method
People love new ideas
The lone inventor
Good ideas are hard to find
Your boss knows more than you
The best idea wins
Problems are less interesting than solutions
Innovation is always good
(A detailed free summary of the book is here)
(A partial list of ranked references from the book)
12/10/2008, Myths of Innovation, Industry Week, Jill Jusko
Innovation applies to technology and products
Innovation is a long term project
Innovation happens by chance
7/16/08, Seven Myths of Innovation, CyberJournalist
Always keep your eye on the ball
Failure is not an option
Everyone loves an innovator
Innovators are problem solvers
Knowledge is Power
Innovation can be predicted
First place always wins
4/09, Four Dangerous Myths, American Management Association, Paddy Miller, Spring 2009
Creativity should be fun
All ideas are good
Innovation is Entrepreneurship
The Creative Imperative
6/29/09, Six Myths of Innovation, CIO Insight, Samuel Greengard
Technology drives innovation
If you pursue innovation, it will come
Innovation results from an outside-in perspective
Bad things will happen if you open up your business processes
Vendors understand your business and IT better than you do
A tight budget stifles innovation.
2/22/2010, Five Damaging Myths about Innovation, Biznik, Jeanne Yocum
An innovation can be purchased
All we need are some good new ideas
I’ll recognize breakthroughs when I see them
We just implemented a great idea, we can rest
(There was no 5th myth)
12/16/10, The 5 Myths of Innovation, Sloan Review MIT (Julian Birkinshaw, Cyril Bouquet and J.-L. Barsoux)
Eureka Moment
Build it and They Will Come
Open Innovation is the Future
Pay Is Paramount
Bottom Up Innovation is Best
7/20/2010, 4 Myths that get in the way of Innovation, CBS, Margaret Heffernan
Innovation involves Quantum Leaps
Only Geeks May Apply
Innovation Requires off-sites with Geniuses
Innovators are a Special Breed
9/14/2010, Beware of these Ten Myths about Innovation Business Insider, Martin Zwilling
Innovation is all about ideas
A great leader never fails at innovation
Effective Innovation leaders fight the system
Everyone can be an innovator
Real innovation happens bottoms-up
Innovation can be embedded inside an organization
Initiating Innovation requires wholesale change
Innovation can only happen in skunk works
Innovation is unmanageable chaos
Only startups can innovate
3/2011, The 7 Common Myths of Innovation, CEO Refresher, George Chen Ian Pallister
Innovation can’t be taught
Breakthrough innovation occurs through stroke of genius
Innovation is solely the job of R&D
Innovation is risky
Innovation is about commercializing cutting edge technologies
Innovation is expensive
Innovation is disruptive and dilutes focus
4/8/2011, Dispelling the Myths about Innovation, Formico, Peter Boggis
Creativity and Innovation are the same thing
Innovation is only relevant for consumer companies
“Innovation just happens”
Business value if innovation is difficult to measure
Innovation requires deep pockets, risk-embracing and bleeding edge technology
10/2011, The Innovation Myths, Harvard Business, Scott Anthony
Innovation is random
Only geniuses can innovate
You’re either an innovator or not
Innovation happens in the R&D lab
We will win with technology
Innovation is about improved performace
Customer will be a critical source
Game changing innovation is done by entrepreneurs
We win by targeting big markets
Innovation requires big bets
10/28/2011, Myths and realities about Innovation, CNBC, Benjamin Hallen
Innovation comes from isolated geniuses
Innovation is about a eureka moment
Great innovations will be easily recognized
5/12/2011, 10 Myths of Innovation, Jon Gatrell
Innovation is all about ideas
The great leader never fails
Leaders are only fighting the system
Everyone can be an innovator
Innovation happens organically
Can be inside an establish organization
Requires wholesale organizational change
Innovation can only happen in Skunk Works
Innovation is unmanageable chaos
Only start-ups can innovate
8/4/2011, Bust Your Innovation Myths, Art Markman
We glorify eureka moments
We assume legendary stories are true
Myths are slanted towards great people and decisive events
9/8/2011, Debunking the Myths of Innovation, Jim Stikeleather, Dell
You can’t ask customers what they need
Faster, better, cheaper
Bringing disruptive innovations is never easy
10/24/2011, Innovation is About Execution, Despite the Myths, Forbes, Martin Zwilling
Innovation is all about ideas
A great leader never fails
Effective innovation leaders are subversives
Everyone can be an innovator
Real innovation is bottom up
Innovation can be embedded in an organization
Innovation requires wholesale change
Innovation happens in skunk works
Innovation is unmanageable chaos
Only startups can innovate
11/3/2011, Three Myths about Innovation, Jim Stikeleather
Successful innovation requires disruptive revolution
You have to be creative (egotistical) to be innovative
Innovation is expensive
12/19/2011, Relentless Innovation – Debunking the Myths, U. of Texas, Jeffrey Phillips
Some industries seem more innovative than others
Fast following innovators can suceed
(Mentions The book The Myths of Innovation)
2/24/2011, 5 Myths of Innovation, Haydn Shaugnessy, Forbes
It’s all about creativity
Innovation is about motivation
Innovation is about the user
Innovation is about products and services
Innovation is good
1/4/2012, The Myths of Innovation, James Gardner, Computer Weekly
If you invest in something new you have better chances of windfall returns
2/7/2012, Debunking 4 myths of innovation, FastCoDesign, Jeffrey Phillips
Individual innovative leadership accounts for success
Level of industry competition dictates the amount of innovation
It’s possible to copy market leaders while retaining competitive advantage
2/12/2012, Five Myths of Innovation, Gartner.com
This list is behind a $495 paywall :(
2/20/2013, 7 Myths of Innovation, Fast Bridge
It is what we do behind closed doors
Innovation just happens
We need to reward innovation
It is about working harder
Real innovation is about adjacent possible
You need the best people
It’s about selecting the best ideas
4/2/2013 (From the future!), 5 Innovation Myths Busted, Flanders, Vladimir Blagojevic
Innovation = creativity + ideas
Innovation = something new
Innovation = great products
Validating innovation = fundraise
Technical Innovations = scalable and automated
How this list was compiled
I used a series of Google, Yahoo and Bing searches, focusing on different date ranges and permutations on “Myths of Innovation”. Search engines are better in some ways than when I wrote the book, as more data is now available on the web. I prioritized articles, posts or presentations that used the words Myth and Innovation somewhere in the title, including some that used the terms Myths and Creativity.
Many posts I found are cross-references of the same links, with interviews with authors of books/posts about myths they’d written about elsewhere and I only listed each list once. If you find other items I should add, please leave a comment.
