So, Michael Schrage has written his last column for MIT’s Technology Review. Wonder what the politics behind that decision were, given the new editor, Jason Pontin, formerly of Red Herring? Anyway, he goes out on a high note, I think, with Innovation Diffusion.
Simply put: innovation isn’t what innovators do; it’s what customers, clients, and people adopt. Innovation isn’t about crafting brilliant ideas that change minds; it’s about the distribution of usable artifacts that change behavior. Innovators — their optimistic arrogance notwithstanding — don’t change the world; the users of their innovations do.
Or, as I like to say: “It’s the people, stupid.” (Don’t mix those words up!)