{"id":72190,"date":"2022-10-28T10:56:36","date_gmt":"2022-10-28T08:56:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visionarymarketing.com\/?p=72190"},"modified":"2025-08-24T10:27:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T08:27:07","slug":"myths-of-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/visionarymarketing.com\/en\/2022\/10\/28\/myths-of-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Must-read: Scott Berkun Spells Out The Myths of Innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

The myths of innovation are\u00a0ubiquitous. Everyone thinks they know what innovation is and means yet in fact innovation is probably one of the most overrated business concepts.\u00a0\u2018Poor is the substance, alas! and yet I\u2019ve read all the books,\u2019 the warning\u00a0sent by French poet St\u00e9phane Mallarm\u00e9 would be perfectly valid for most of the literature devoted to <\/i>innovation<\/a>. There are books on that subject; however, which are worth reading such as the inevitable myths of innovation by Scott Berkun. We published\u00a0this piece for the first time in 2010. We are republishing it\u00a0because of its relevance in the current context of 2022.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

The Myths of Innovation is a must-read for would-be innovators<\/h2>\n
\"Myths<\/a>
Scott Berkun delivering a presentation on his myths of innovation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Berkun is a full-time writer and speaker and former program manager at Microsoft, the man behind the success of Internet Explorer at a time when the Web was dominated by Netscape.<\/p>\n

He also delivers lectures such as this amazing Carnegie Mellon presentation (per below) on the book I am describing here.<\/p>\n

\"Myths
Ask anyone about the epitome of innovation and they will tell you that the iPhone is it and that 2007 is the ultimate year of innovation. Ask Vaclav Smil and he\u2019ll tell you this is nothing compared to other innovations like ammonia for instance. I\u2019d even add that Apple never invented the smartphone. Nokia did, in 1995 or so and HTC (n\u00e9e Qtec) improved it as early as 2003. Most people confuse innovation for commercial success. That\u2019s one of my favourite myths of innovation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His book is not based on dubious principles but spells out clearly the dos and don\u2019ts of innovation. It\u2019s a lot more powerful than most books because of that because it\u2019s easier to learn from mistakes than mimic other people\u2019s behaviour.<\/p>\n

Here are Scott Berkun\u2019s ten myths of innovation summed up in a few words, and I hope this will convince you to buy a copy of his book too.<\/p>\n

All ten myths described by Scott Berkun in his book<\/h3>\n

\"TheMyth number one: <\/strong>the myth of the epiphany. An epiphany<\/em>, in essence, a sudden moment at which creation is supposed to happen, is epitomised by Archimedes\u2019s Eureka<\/em> moment or Newton\u2019s apple.<\/p>\n

If many innovations are described as magical moments, the truth is often more complex: hard work is required, the Eureka moment is often coming at the end of that process (not the beginning).<\/p>\n

Most Eureka legends aren\u2019t real; they are myths aimed at giving a romantic<\/em> view of innovation,<\/p>\n

We understand nothing about the history of innovation<\/span><\/p>\n

Myth number\u00a02: <\/strong>we understand the history of innovation. Well, so we think, but most of the time we don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Most of the stories we read about innovation aren\u2019t real either.<\/p>\n

Google wasn\u2019t a search engine to start with, nor was Flickr a photo-sharing platform, etc.<\/p>\n

In fact, most innovations are the results of errors, changes, and corrections, but we like history to smooth things out and make them sound perfect and simple.<\/p>\n

Myth number\u00a03: <\/strong>there is a method for innovation.<\/p>\n

How does one deliver innovation? Despite our attraction to recipes, innovation is, in essence,\u2009a \u2018charge into the unknown\u2019 and therefore, a method for innovation is a bit of an oxymoron,<\/p>\n

Myth number\u00a04: <\/strong>people love new ideas, so we like to think, but most of the time it\u2019s not true.<\/p>\n

Changing one\u2019s habits is always a challenge, and that is true of customers too (remember Geoffrey Moore\u2019s Crossing the chasm?)<\/p>\n

There is no end to the list of rejections that innovators have to face. Change management is an innovator\u2019s best friend,<\/p>\n

The lone inventor<\/h3>\n

Myth number\u00a05:<\/strong> the lone inventor. We like stories in which a genius single-handedly changed the world: Edison invented the electric light; Ford invented the automobile; Apple invented the first graphical user interface, etc.<\/p>\n

All wrong! And most of these stories are wrong.<\/p>\n

Often, innovations happen simultaneously, too (in different countries at approximately the same time).<\/p>\n

Lastly, successful companies are often started by a group of people, not the obligatory lone inventor.<\/p>\n

Myth number\u00a06: <\/strong>good ideas are hard to find.<\/p>\n

Ideas are everywhere, and not just found as a result of a brainstorm session (a tool which most of the time is badly used and implemented).<\/p>\n

Ideas come in more than many ways, mostly through trial and error.<\/p>\n

As far as I am concerned, because I am not a very imaginative person, I love to pick other people\u2019s brains and make notes of all the ideas they have had but have never had the pluck to implement.<\/p>\n

\u2018It would be so nice if we could do this and that and the other\u2019 is often my starting point. The real issue is not the idea(s) but how they could come to fruition and when.<\/p>\n

Those who know better, most of the time, know nothing<\/h3>\n

Myth number\u00a07: <\/strong>your boss knows more about innovation than you do.<\/p>\n

Berkun argues that managers can make decisions that others can\u2019t, but this doesn\u2019t mean that they always know what to do.<\/p>\n

Often, power and a high position in the hierarchy exert pressure on execs, and they feel terribly alone.<\/p>\n

I have witnessed that the higher in the hierarchy, the further away you are from the field, the easier it is to lose sight of reality; theoretical views don\u2019t make decision-making easy.<\/p>\n

Often, managers are, therefore, afraid of innovation.<\/p>\n

Berkun provides the antidote by describing the most necessary common traits of successful managers,<\/p>\n

Myth number\u00a08: <\/strong>the best ideas win.<\/p>\n

There is a fairy tale view of innovation (in fairy tales good guys win, and bad guys lose) hence the belief that it\u2019s always the best innovation that wins.<\/p>\n

There are so many counterexamples such as the QWERTY keyboard (aimed at slowing down typists to avoid jamming), HTML and JavaScript (probably the most horrendous computer languages ever invented), the M-16 rifle, etc.<\/p>\n

There are seven factors according to Berkun which are leading to product success: culture, dominant design, inheritance and tradition, politics, economics, subjectivity and short-term orientation.<\/p>\n

Problems and solutions<\/h3>\n

Myth number\u00a09: <\/strong>problems and solutions.<\/p>\n

Great innovations\u2009 \u2014 \u2009such as the palm pilot project, a pioneering digital notepad of the 1990s\u2009 \u2014 \u2009often come from the clear and simple spelling of a few problems that they are meant to solve.<\/p>\n

Believing that serendipity plays a major role is also wrong and yet another proof of the myth of the epiphany. Hard work and prototyping are of the essence.<\/p>\n

Myth number\u00a010: <\/strong>innovation is always good.<\/p>\n

Rumour has it that Rudolf Diesel committed suicide when he realised that only the military was interested in his innovation.<\/p>\n

He thought that this would serve the purpose of the war between Germany and France. Diesel was a German national but he\u2019d almost lived in France all his life.<\/p>\n

His innovation was being used to do harm and kill people and destroy Europe, not to do good and improve people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n

Other examples abound quoted by Berkun in his book\u2009 \u2014 \u2009such as the DDT and personal computers and even cell phones, not to mention discrimination via the infamous digital divide.<\/p>\n