As a culture, we’re in love with the idea of genius. We point to people like Steve Jobs and Edison and think: They must be born with it. That type of innovation can’t be taught.
Maybe that’s true for a select handful of people. We’re not all going to popularize the lightbulb, or reinvent the phone. But that doesn’t mean we all can’t be more innovative. In fact, innovation is a baseline requirement for survival for many industries today. The idea that innovation is a natural talent that can’t be measured (let alone taught) is a pretense. It provides an excuse not to invest in making our companies, and ourselves, more innovative.
