ysts to flourish, companies need to embrace open
innovation, approach innovation systematically,
simplify and decentralize decision-making mechanisms,
and be learning-focused and failure-tolerant.
Beyond that, they need to make the pursuit of
transformative innovation a purpose-driven activity.
Many corporate leaders fret about how to
provide sufficient economic incentives to attract
high-quality innovators. It is hard for them to offer
the potential for wealth that a stand-alone entrepreneur
might realize. But, as Daniel Pink discusses
in his 2009 book Drive, additional financial incentives
can actually decrease performance on creative
tasks. Pink argues that the way to motivate creative
people is to give them autonomy, provide opportunities
to develop mastery, and instill a sense of
purpose in their work. That applies in spades to
catalysts.
The fourth era is already shifting the roles that innovation
players have traditionally held and creating
new ones:
Venture capitalists, who were the enablers of the
third era, must consider how their model has to
change if they are to remain relevant.