Beyond innovation, back to progress

Yesterday I gave a talk that seems to have hit a nerve at the Prix Strategis. I tried to explain that, in the wake of the ongoing disintegration of the American dream, the mindset of European entrepreneurs is needed more than ever.

How do European entrepreneurs think?

They are those who know that life goes beyond data, that many things - and perhaps the most important things - are invisible, intangible and unmeasurable.

Those who understand that some innovations are better not used. The only intelligent way to deal with atomic bombs is to learn not to use them. Perhaps some digital technologies deserve the same treatment.

Those who understand that technology is here to serve and augment humans, not replace them.

Those who understand that it's not about wiping up the past, but taking what's good from both the past and the future to build a desirable present.

Those who understand that innovation is collective and never individual, that every new idea is built on top of centuries of wisdom and achievements like roads, processors, communication networks, laws, books.

Those who understand that the only way to succeed is to bring both the digital and the "real" world together.

Those who understand that there are no shortcuts, that innovation is hard, slow, and always triggers resistance.

Those who know that the key is to find the questions first, the answers second.

Those who knows that success is multidimensional and personal. Multidimensional because about more than exits and magazine covers: health, legacy, quality of life, contribution to the advancement of society.

Personal because each and every one of us has to define what's important for her or him, without being overwhelmed by the pre-cooked models of success we are served by the hype.

Time has come for the "old continent" to help move the world beyond innovation, and back to a noble idea we seem to have forgotten, the idea of "progress".