Why Innovation Fails

Citation

(2004), "Why Innovation Fails", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 53 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijppm.2004.07953aae.002

Why Innovation Fails

Carl FranklinSpiro PressISBN: 1904298087£16.99

Innovation! Not exactly a neglected subject in the last few years. So, a new book needs something new to say … or a new way of presenting existing material … or, preferably, both.

Carl Franklin here does indeed take a novel and entertaining approach (involving story-telling) which should prove interesting and informative to a range of people – inventors and entrepreneurs, investors in new technologies, or anyone simply interested in the history of modern innovation. There are examples of both historic innovation and popular futuristic prophecies to keep up the interest levels.

Franklin's aim is to learn from failures of the (especially recent) past to avoid repeating the causes of those failures. Some of the lessons are obvious, like judging the product from the point of view of the consumer/user, than the inventor/producer.

The author uses the phrase "so what?" to demonstrate much of the failure associated with start-ups. This is a simple but useful phrase – applicable to the whole entrepreneurial process. The product may seem like a good idea to the inventor, but so what? Is it a good idea that will be adopted by the consumer?

Franklin then goes on to suggest a set of questions that inventors should ask themselves of their product, and offers a set of helpful check statements that should be uppermost in the minds of inventors and entrepreneurs:

Smart people sometimes make stupid mistakes.

Just because it's a great idea doesn't mean it will succeed.

Emotion, habit, culture and standards are difficult things to change.

Franklin points out that products do not necessarily succeed because they are better, cheaper, simpler or whatever. The timing often has to be right – perhaps the product needs to "piggy-back" on another, or to have its competition swept away before it reaches market.

The book reminds us that consumers are often irrational. Tradition, culture, inertia, fear of the unknown often play a part in mass adoption (or more likely no-adoption) of particular products.

The overall message of the book is not that innovation must fail, but that it might fail. The inventor has to create the best possible chance of success. Think clearly and objectively on the product and its likely consumers. Why might they adopt it? Why should they buy it? What might stop them? Then address the issues identified.