In recent years, innovation has become the latest catchword in US boardrooms, and even slow moving industries not normally associated with innovation suddenly see it as a capability critical to survival. Recently, however, a quiet backlash is forming as the word conjures up images of afternoons lost to brainstorming sessions and stickie-noted walls, with little to show for it in the bottom line.
The fact is, most corporate innovation initiatives—regardless of industry—will....