Innovation is a Passion, Not A Process

HP started in a garage. And, I don’t know, about a million other business and products did too.

Albert Einstein began solving the mysteries of the universe as a patent office clerk. Thomas Edison saw a light bulb go off in his head and then invented the real thing.

Walt Disney turned a farmhouse mouse into an icon. The Wright Brothers dreamed of flying and then, well, did it.

Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Jeff Zuckerberg. My first boss in the PR world (who sold our small regional firm to Porter Novelli.) All were dropouts or misfits or social outcasts – and all successful innovators beyond imagination.

They and countless others innovated and created without the need for “Innovation Officers,” off-sites or brainstorming lessons. They didn’t need policies or waited for permission to think freely.

Innovation begins with “in,” as in from within. As soon as you make innovation a policy or a procedure it becomes a chore. I don’t know about you, but I hate doing chores.

Companies are not innovative. People are — a person is.

True innovators follow their passions, not processes. And so should we all.