The eXtreme Innovation Manifesto

Behold the eXtreme Innovation Manifesto (XIM), a call to action based on a consultant's and an entrepreneur's experience watching and driving innovation.  In the next few posts, we will explain each principle and what it means for redirecting your innovation efforts.


Let's begin with Innovators over Ideas.  This is the most important principle in the Manifesto, because it challenges deeply-held innovation dogma.  Most corporate innovation efforts focus on generating ideas.  Hands up if the following rallying cries sound familiar: "We need more ideas!", "Where is the next $1,000,000 idea?".


The seductive theory is, find ideas and you find profits.  Full disclosure: as a consultant, I earn fees guiding large corporate teams to generate ideas, but I've learned the prosaic truth. The ratio of ideas in to profits out is highly unfavorable (you'll get used to my English understatement).


Instead, flip the quest to: "We need more innovators!".  Why?  Because the odds of success are way better.  Natural innovators, if you can find the few working for your company, and if you create the environment in which they can thrive, will:

• generate compelling, different ideas
• test the concept quickly and cheaply (more on this when we cover Pretotyping), and
• iterate rapidly as early feedback improves the idea.  

In the next post, we'll discuss finding and nurturing natural innovators.