Das Innovationsparadox

A few years ago, a public administration hired me to bring them innovation. The Director, Deputy Director, every Departmental Head in the room. "Kevin, we need something new. Our processes are too slow. Bring us ideas."

So I proposed a Machine Learning based document processing automation. Controlled. Safe. Completely standard outside of public institutions. The room went silent. Then someone said: "No. Not that kind of innovation. No Machine Learning. No automation." Another voice added: "Can't we do something more... innovative?"

This is the paradox I see across organizations. They want innovation. But the second question is always: "Can you prove someone else already did this?" That's not innovation. That's replication.

Real innovation means taking the first step where nobody has gone before. It means accepting a real chance of failure. Most companies say they want that. But very few actually do.