The Innovation Leadership Blog

“Start with a blank sheet of paper.” It sounds like creative freedom. It’s actually the slowest, riskiest, and least effective way to innovate.

Every leader I’ve worked with who insisted on starting from scratch shared the same belief: that ignoring what came before was the path to something truly new. They were wrong. Expensively...

Large Enterprises: Your Talent Pipeline and Your Innovation Pipeline Are Working Against Each Other

It’s the unintended consequence of thoughtfully designed leadership development programs when they’re applied to a function that doesn’t work like all the others; innovation. The reason leadership...

The 18-Month Innovator: Why the middle ground is the most fertile

Understanding effective innovation strategy means recognizing that not all innovators operate the same way. There are different kinds of innovation thinkers in the world, and they're not all created...

Innovation Portfolio Management: Why Most Leaders Get It Backwards

Most innovation leaders evaluate projects one at a time. That's the wrong question. The leaders who consistently deliver results think like Warren Buffett, not Walt Disney — and it changes everything...

Snap’s AR Glasses Backlash: Innovation Failure or Innovation Strategy?

Snap unveiled $2,195 AR glasses called Specs on June 16, 2026, and the internet tore them apart — mocking the design, balking at the price, and watching Snap’s stock fall more than 11% in a...

Innovation leaders who are hiring just for AI skills are getting it all wrong.​

The focus on integrating AI into innovation shouldn't be on the skills needed to create effective inputs, it should be on the skills to assess the effectiveness of AI outputs. The question is whether...

Bell Labs invented the transistor, cellular networks, Unix, and the laser. Then corporate America killed it.

Bell Labs invented the transistor, cellular networks, Unix & the laser. Then corporate leaders killed it. Not bad luck. Not bad markets - Bad decisions...

The Root of Most Innovation Failures Isn’t Where You Think It Is

If you’re struggling to build a high-performing innovation team, the issue may not be your strategy, your funding, or even your leadership. It may be your HR system. Most HR organizations are designed...

Navigating Innovation During Turbulence

To thrive during an economic turbulence, companies must change their innovation strategy. Budgets must be cut while continuing to invest in innovation. The key is having a balance and making strategic...