Innovation is of all ages

A lot of managers assume that establishing a culture of innovation would require bringing young people into their organisations. I tell them they are wrong. I observe in practice that innovation is of all ages. This is supported by research of Benjamin Jones of Northwestern University. He states that a 55-year-old and even a 65-year-old have significantly more innovation potential than a 25-year-old. He based his conclusions on data on Nobel Prize winners and great inventors. I think I even became a better innovator when growing older, for five reasons:

1. I had to learn the #patterns first before breaking them. 

2. I #dare more as I do not care so much anymore about what others would think of me.

3. I learn from my #failures, as my initial ideas are not always successful, of course.

4. I am still highly creative. My #creativity has not diminished at all, compared to thirty years ago.

5. Greyish hair gives me #authority. 

Innovation needs the creativity of a five-year-old, the passion of a thirty-year-old, and the wisdom of a seventy-year-old.

 

bron: Gijs van Wubben

boek: Inspiration for Innovation - 101 Lessons for Innovators- 

 

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