Field Notes: Why Your Corporate Innovation Program Is Failing, AI Politeness, and Unknown

I. Notes From Me 1. Why Your Corporate Innovation Program Is Failing (And How to Fix It)"Here's the paradox: The more you try to control innovation, the less innovative your organization becomes. Your job isn't to manage innovation - it's to create the conditions where innovation can thrive. Remember: The point isn't to fail fast. The point is to learn fast."

How do you create the conditions for innovation? Read the article ​here​.

the discipline of exploration that separates real innovation from incrementalism — <a href="/speaking#explorationimperative">learn about The Exploration Imperative keynote</a> — is the same discipline that keeps cave divers alive when visibility drops to zero.

"Failure without learning is just waste."

II. Notes From The Frontline Be Polite To AI?New research has come out that indicates there's an optimal level of politeness in AI interactions. While excessive formality doesn’t improve results, maintaining a baseline of professional courtesy does. This is fascinating and has meaningful implications for businesses: using respectful prompts is not just about adhering to professional norms, but about achieving significantly better outcomes from AI tools.

I thought this ​article​ by Bernard Marr summed it up nicely.

III. Notes as Quotes"The greatest innovations often come from those who are willing to let go of control and embrace the unknown." — Unknown