About Innovation

When I became responsible for a division decades ago, I stepped into a storm. The company had just hired one of those big consultancy firms to “fix” innovation, the holy grail that would apparently catapult us out of commodity hell and into the promised land of big profits. Their big idea? A shiny new KPI: the percentage of new products introduced in the last 12 months.

When I presented to the board, I told them I already knew the answer to that KPI for the next three years: zero. That’s right—no new products. I wouldn’t play the game. Why? Because I wasn’t interested in dressing up the same old products in shiny new packaging and calling it “innovation.” That’s not innovation; it’s theater.

Instead, I laid out a plan to change the game entirely. Forget rehashing products. I wanted to overhaul the entire route to market—distribution, sales, and marketing—using digital tools that no one in the industry was even thinking about yet.

And that’s when the pushback began. “Are there examples in our industry where this works?” the board asked, raising their eyebrows as if I’d just suggested we open a lemonade stand on Mars.

“No,” I replied. “That’s the point.”

Unsurprisingly, they voted against it. Too risky. Too unproven. Too... well, innovative. I stood my ground and told them they didn’t understand what innovation was all about. Then I went ahead and did it anyway.

That moment taught me a hard truth about corporate mindsets: most people think they want innovation until they see what it actually takes. It’s not shiny KPIs or safe bets. It’s risk. It’s courage. It’s walking into the unknown and trusting curiosity to guide the way.

And that’s exactly why curiosity is taboo in business today. Because true curiosity doesn’t promise instant results. It demands bold decisions in the face of uncertainty—and that terrifies most leaders. But let me tell you, the biggest risk isn’t taking a risk. The biggest risk is doing nothing at all.

Curiosity Killed the Business Case, But It's the Lack of It That Will Kill Your Business

Ah, the corporate quest for "future-proofing." It’s the holy grail of boardroom bingo, isn’t it? The slide deck makes its grand entrance, stuffed with buzzwords like resilience, sustainability, and, my personal favorite, innovation. CEOs lean back with a self-satisfied grin, convinced they’ve hit the jackpot, while the P&L sparkles with short-term profits. Polite applause fills the room. And in my head? I’m laughing—or more accurately, trying not to cry.

Innovation: The P&L’s Worst Enemy

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: in most companies, the P&L is innovation’s biggest adversary. Why? Because the modern corporate machine isn’t wired for the future—it’s wired for today. Bonuses hinge on short-term wins. Shareholder reports celebrate margin expansion and quarter-by-quarter growth. Dividends rise. The stock price ticks upward. But where’s the line item for innovation that won’t pay off this year, next year, or even in five years? Right. It doesn’t exist.

There’s no penalty box in the P&L for failing to prepare for 2030, for dismissing that one crazy idea that could redefine your industry, or for avoiding the risks that real innovation demands. The system is rigged to reward today’s victories at the expense of tomorrow’s survival.

Curiosity: The Taboo That Nobody Mentions

And this is why curiosity is taboo in the business world. Go ahead, check your favorite management books—how many chapters even mention it? Almost none. That’s because curiosity isn’t “safe.” It’s not scalable, it doesn’t promise predictable returns, and it certainly doesn’t fit into a three-year strategic plan.

Curiosity means wandering into the unknown. And the unknown? That’s risk. And risk is what most companies are programmed to avoid.

The biggest risk of all is avoiding risk entirely.

A Masterclass in Risk Avoidance

When leaders are celebrated for keeping costs low, boosting stock prices, and hitting quarterly targets, we’re essentially paying them not to take risks. We applaud fiscal responsibility and mistake it for innovation. But ask those same leaders how they’re preparing for 2030, and what do you get? Glazed eyes and vague buzzwords about “synergies” or “staying agile.” It’s like they’re reading from a script written in the 1990s.

The Cautionary Tale of German Automakers

Look no further than the German automotive industry. For years, they strutted around as paragons of innovation. But as Tesla, BYD, and other disruptors raced ahead with electric vehicles, the German giants were busy maximizing today’s profits. They dismissed electric cars as niche, even as the market shifted beneath their feet.

Now? They’re in a desperate scramble to catch up in a race they didn’t even realize they were losing. They missed the signal—not because they weren’t smart, but because their systems rewarded them for ignoring it.

What Future-Proofing Really Means

Let’s stop pretending that “future-proofing” is a checklist item you can buy in bulk. It’s not about hiring a Chief Innovation Officer or slapping an AI-powered sticker on your products. It’s about fostering a culture where curiosity isn’t just tolerated but celebrated.

It’s about daring to ask: What if? What if we let our best people explore the fringes? What if we invest in ideas that might fail? What if we liberate human brains from the mundane tasks we call work and instead unleash their potential for creativity and problem-solving?

Because here’s the thing: the future will be messy. It will be a mix of the good, the bad, and the ugly—just like today. And companies that refuse to embrace curiosity will be left clinging to yesterday’s profits as tomorrow’s opportunities pass them by.

The Real Holy Grail: Curiosity

Curiosity isn’t reckless. It’s not dangerous. It’s not risky. What’s risky is sitting back, waiting for a bulletproof business case while the world moves on without you. The real pioneers aren’t the ones with perfect plans; they’re the ones willing to explore without knowing exactly where they’ll land.

So, if you’re sitting in that boardroom, smugly applauding your “future-proof” strategy, ask yourself this: When was the last time your company took a risk worth taking? When was the last time you rewarded curiosity, even when it didn’t come with a guaranteed ROI?

If you can’t answer that, don’t worry—the future will answer it for you. And you might not like what it has to say.