A Brief History of Innovation
The first era of innovation—that of the lone inventor—encompassed
much of human history. Innovators
occasionally formed or latched on to companies
to exploit the full potential of their ideas, but most
seminal innovations developed before about 1915
are closely associated with the individuals behind
them: Gutenberg’s press. Whitney’s cotton gin. Edison’s
lightbulb. The Wright brothers’ plane. Ford’s
assembly line (actually as much a business model as
a technology).
With the perfection of the assembly line, a century
ago, the increasing complexity and cost of innovation
pushed it out of individuals’ reach, driving
more company-led efforts. A combination of
longer-term perspectives and less stifling corporate
bureaucracies meant that many organizations
would happily tolerate experimental
efforts. Thus the heroes of this second era