Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Is the Ivy League really killing innovation?

A new Business Week article criticizes "big business" for failing to provide us with any remarkable new innovations. The article blames this lack of innovation on the idea that managers hire Ivy League professors (or similar counterparts) to help standardize all the processes in a business, whereby innovation and creativity are stifled. Their argument is that "big business" need to gain back the entrepreneurial spirit they once possessed. This entrepreneurial spirit is what helped the largest of the large companies end up where they are now.

An interesting point raised is because established companies have become so risk averse, now when a creative mind attempts an innovation and fails, they innovator is subsequently fired for failing. Therefore, the managers who allow such attempts are reprimanded and unlikely to allow further attempts at innovating something new. The authors argue, instead of the innovator being fired, they should be given a raise and an atta-boy and told to continue their pursuit.

(we know prof. wadhwani is NOT one of those stifling ivy league types!!)


How the Ivy League Is Killing Innovation

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