We hold innovative firms up to the light- as rare, glorious examples.
Most organisations have a number of creative people – whether or not in avowedly creative roles.
When these creative people come up with ides that could become innovations – the ideas tend to be evaluated too early and too harshly. Evaluators look for ways in which the idea could fail rather than looking for ways in which the idea could succeed.
Some products will fail because they are not technically feasible – they don’t do what it was thought they would do. Others will fail because they are financially not viable – they cost too much or will fail to generate sufficient additional revenue.
However, the biggest killer of innovation is a lack (rarely explicit) of organisational feasibility. It just doesn’t fit with what we do – or how we do things. We don’t have a department where it fits.
If you have good ideas, treat them kindly – look for ways to make them fit and make them work. Otherwise you are never going to innovate.