Our Desperate Need for Meaningful Innovation

Worries about failure, criticism, and overall happiness hold back many people from embracing innovation.

Yet the need for meaningful innovation is, if anything, greater now than ever before.

No matter where we look, we see problems that can be solved only through innovation: unaffordable or unavailable health care, billions of people trying to live on just a few dollars a day, energy usage that outpaces the planet’s ability to support it, education systems that fail many students, companies whose traditional markets are disrupted by new technologies or demographic shifts.

These problems all have people at their heart. They require a human-centered, creative, iterative, and practical approach to finding the best ideas and ultimate solutions. Reducing fear by lowering the perception of risk is a primary, driving factor in all meaningful innovation.

Fear is a complex and personal topic—what intimidates or paralyzes some can motivate others to act boldly. And three fears hold back meaningful innovation more than others:

• fear of criticism
• fear of uncertainty
• fear of negative impact on one’s happiness.

Individuals working at average or below-average innovators are two to four times more likely than those working at leading innovators to cite these fears as barriers to innovation.

The world is changing, and technology is part of the problem.

We’re reminded daily that our world is transforming: Digitization, the Internet of Things, obsession with AI, 3D printing, the electrification of transportation and much more.

By 2030, the majority of people will live in cities, straining existing infrastructure that can’t grow fast – or sustainably – enough to keep up. And an expanding middle class of more than 5 billion people will increase the demand for goods and services, drawing on limited resources and increasing per capita carbon footprint.

We need meaningful innovation that will positively impact the environment while helping solve pressing climate issues.

The world will be warmer and more crowded, challenging the quality of life and the environment. And technology will continue to accelerate. With over 125 billion intelligent devices, energy demands will escalate.

We see the trajectory. And we know we can make a difference today with the products we create, the decisions we make and the actions we take. We must be dedicated to a better future for our planet and for our fellow global citizens.

Thomas Edison represents what many of us think of as a golden age of American innovation—a time when new ideas transformed every aspect of our lives. And Edison’s innovations seemed to make the world better for everyone.

Today’s innovations, for the most part, do not have equal benefits or impact.