What accelerates innovation
Lately I've been reading about the efforts to build or create innovation accelerators. Universities, businesses and even cities and regions are talking about innovation and the need to create accelerators or innovation enablers. I'm glad that everyone is excited about innovation, and that they want to provide the means to help it flourish and help it move more quickly. But the thing is, like most late arrivals, they've got the wrong end of the stick as the Brits like to say. Buildings, programs, artificial meet ups and other activities that are being put into place as accelerators aren't going to accelerate innovation. These solutions will accelerate interaction, perhaps, but not innovation. To accelerate innovation, we need to do a couple of important things that are being overlooked or ignored. First, describe an important or interesting problem or opportunity. Most cities and businesses are overwhelmed by opportunities and problems, yet they spend little...