25 Jul How innovation really works and why it’s so hard

Most innovation projects fail. In fact, renowned author Clay Christensen claims that 95% of innovation projects don’t work out.

Funnily enough, the complexity and impossibility of innovation are what I find so fascinating. Designing breakthrough products that customers love that are both viable and profitable is a wild adventure.

So it’s not a sprint. In fact, it’s a marathon that calls on a wide variety of skills and behaviours. You need to be part artist, part scientist. You need patience, and you need drive and courage. Feeling tired already?

What we need is a roadmap for creating incredible new products and services. We need a practical guide that lights the path and offers a few helpful tips along the way.

That’s why I created Innovation Inc. It’s a survival guide to business innovation. Also, it’s not just for startups. It’s for large organizations too.

I’ve spent my entire life building new companies, products and services. It all started in 1997 when I co-founded the first Internet radio station in Australia. The product was widely popular, but we lost money hand over fist. So, we were part of the 95%. We failed.

I wish I had a survival guide then. Over the last 20 years, I’ve been studying the successes and failures to understand the pattern of innovation.

Inside of Innovation Inc, you’ll find frameworks and tools across the four areas (4P’s) of innovation:

1. People: Great companies build great products.
2. Product: Testing and learning from customers is the source of inspiration.
3. Profit: Solving big problems, creates big growth.
4. Promotion: Tell a story worth sharing.

Enjoy all the writing, videos and PDF’s and let me know your ideas for surviving the innovation journey. Click here for Innovation Inc.