George Bernard Shaw once observed, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” I think the same can be said of innovation.
According to Clayton Christensen, there are three types of innovation that organizations can pursue:
l. Performance Improvement (i.e. replacing a product or service with one that offers greater value)
2. Increased Efficiency (i.e. doing more and doing better in less time)
3. Radical Empowerment (i.e. a transforming product or service that creates new classes of consumers, expands or creates markets, and/or generateds jobs for the originator or economy)
In this context, I am again reminded of an observation by Peter Drucker: "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all."
Elliott Parker: "Here is the dilemma: The first two types of innovation, while necessary, do not create enduring, resilient enterprises. Only empowering innovation, repeated over time, can build an enduring, resilient business. [begin italics] The pursuit oƒ safety and efficiency as an expense of new market creation is incredibly risky over the long run [end italics]."
Parker focuses on a key insight or theme in each of the twelve chapters. Here are the first six:
Chapter 1. In an environment of rapid change, what feels safe is counterintuitively risky.
2. Sustained focus on efficiency creates remarkably capable -- but fragile -- organizations.
3. Thriving companies are deliberately messy, not sterile.
4. Corporations must reconsider their purpose, approach, and governance in a decentralized world.
5. A new era of decentralization is empowering small teams and individuals to disrupt traditional corporations.
6. Corporate leaders can learn from enduring natural systems, which innovate without management or objectives.
With rigor and precision, Parker explains HOW to respond effectively to challenges posed by these and other realities in a business world that is more volatile, more uncertain, more complex, and more ambiguous than at any prior time that I can recall.
Many years ago at one GE's annual meetings, its then chairman and CEO, Jack Welch, was asked to explain the reasons why he so highly admired small companies. Here's his reply:
“For one, they communicate better. Without the din and prattle of bureaucracy, people listen as well as talk; and since there are fewer of them they generally know and understand each other. Second, small companies move faster. They know the penalties for hesitation in the marketplace. Third, in small companies, with fewer layers and less camouflage, the leaders show up very clearly on the screen. Their performance and its impact are clear to everyone. And, finally, smaller companies waste less. They spend less time in endless reviews and approvals and politics and paper drills. They have fewer people; therefore they focus on doing what is most important. Their people are free to direct their energy and attention toward the marketplace rather than fighting bureaucracy.”
Presumably Elliott Parker agrees with Welch about the importance of establishing a workplace culture -- in almost any organization, whatever its size and nature may be--within which empowering innovation is most likely to thrive. Anything less is, at best, an illusion...or worse yet, a delusion.
To those who share my high regard for The Illusion of Innovation, I recommend two others: Keith Sawyer's Zig Zag: The Surprising Path to Greater Creativity (2013) and Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All (2013) co-authored by Tom Kelley and David Kelley.
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Reviews with images
Re-imagining corporate innovation
Elliott approaches corporate innovation with a thoughtful, critical evaluation of what is broken and why corporations continue to struggle to create breakthroughs.“We have massive problems yet to be solved, and we need our corporations and other large institutions to be effective in addressing them.”The Illusion of Innovation is a call for corporations to find new, creative ways of addressing these problems by breaking through the illusionary pursuit of capital efficiency while reimagining the way they drive transformation.“In the face of an unknown future, the best strategy for maximizing returns and minimizing risk is to run as many experiments as possible, at the lowest possible cost per experiment.”Parker takes readers through unconventional examples of breakthroughs from history, nature, and even sports that exhibit a little randomness and some creative problem solving. The author encourages scaled organizations to shift their focus away from efficiency and execution and toward learning and insight collection. It’s a call for corporations to take big swings and accept some risk in pursuit of the opportunity to make the world a better place.This book is a must read for anyone who is looking to move beyond innovation theater and bring about meaningful solutions to the world’s greatest problems.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2024
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2024
Elliott approaches corporate innovation with a thoughtful, critical evaluation of what is broken and why corporations continue to struggle to create breakthroughs.
“We have massive problems yet to be solved, and we need our corporations and other large institutions to be effective in addressing them.”
The Illusion of Innovation is a call for corporations to find new, creative ways of addressing these problems by breaking through the illusionary pursuit of capital efficiency while reimagining the way they drive transformation.
“In the face of an unknown future, the best strategy for maximizing returns and minimizing risk is to run as many experiments as possible, at the lowest possible cost per experiment.”
Parker takes readers through unconventional examples of breakthroughs from history, nature, and even sports that exhibit a little randomness and some creative problem solving. The author encourages scaled organizations to shift their focus away from efficiency and execution and toward learning and insight collection. It’s a call for corporations to take big swings and accept some risk in pursuit of the opportunity to make the world a better place.
This book is a must read for anyone who is looking to move beyond innovation theater and bring about meaningful solutions to the world’s greatest problems.
“We have massive problems yet to be solved, and we need our corporations and other large institutions to be effective in addressing them.”
The Illusion of Innovation is a call for corporations to find new, creative ways of addressing these problems by breaking through the illusionary pursuit of capital efficiency while reimagining the way they drive transformation.
“In the face of an unknown future, the best strategy for maximizing returns and minimizing risk is to run as many experiments as possible, at the lowest possible cost per experiment.”
Parker takes readers through unconventional examples of breakthroughs from history, nature, and even sports that exhibit a little randomness and some creative problem solving. The author encourages scaled organizations to shift their focus away from efficiency and execution and toward learning and insight collection. It’s a call for corporations to take big swings and accept some risk in pursuit of the opportunity to make the world a better place.
This book is a must read for anyone who is looking to move beyond innovation theater and bring about meaningful solutions to the world’s greatest problems.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2024
Amazing book on why normal "innovation" initiatives don't get us there... and what can.
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2024
Elliott Parker’s book 'The Illusion of Innovation' is an important read, the concepts can be applied to business leaders that control investments, as well as social and political leaders. Knowing a little about Elliott, his past and current endeavors, I think it is pretty safe to say, he is one of the few people qualified to write this. It leaves the lasting impression that we need to do more, in different ways. One can choose safe bets that lead to little innovation or one can take calculated risks that lead to not only innovation, but new problems to solve. Coming from a Venture Capital backed background myself, this left me feeling like I am doing something important… even better, it left me feeling like I need to find ways to do more. And, it’s printed on nice paper.
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2024
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Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2024
While many of us understand that corporations play a vital role in improving society, The Illusion of Innovation sheds light on how they’re increasingly challenged to create transformative innovation because of a focus on capital efficiency and near-term safety.
An eye-opening read if you want to learn how startups can be a great way for corporations to learn and experiment.
Thinking differently about corporate experimentation
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2024
“If you want more serendipity, you should probably be running more experiments that challenge your existing assumptions and beliefs”Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2024
While many of us understand that corporations play a vital role in improving society, The Illusion of Innovation sheds light on how they’re increasingly challenged to create transformative innovation because of a focus on capital efficiency and near-term safety.
An eye-opening read if you want to learn how startups can be a great way for corporations to learn and experiment.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2024
