I went down a rabbit hole trying to find the “right” innovation framework. Turns out most of what I believed about innovation was completely wrong.

I spent weeks studying MIT iTeams (for breakthrough tech exploration), Cascading Tree (for strategic alignment), GInI (for systematic enterprise innovation), and Scott Berkun’s The Myths of Innovation. Each framework works in different situations, but none is a silver bullet. And Bell Labs’ history taught me something crucial: pursuing an idea takes fourteen times as much effort as having it.

The biggest lesson? I was waiting for the perfect framework before starting, doing exactly what Berkun warns against. Looking for some system that would remove all uncertainty before I began.

Turns out innovation frameworks are useful tools when matched to the right situation and cultural context. But they can’t replace the courage to start imperfectly, the persistence to keep going, and the genuine curiosity to explore problems worth solving.

[Read the full post on Substack →]

Includes a free info-graph with practical scenarios for each framework, diagnostic questions to assess organizational readiness, warning signs of when frameworks fail, and actionable first steps you can try this week.