Why innovation will remain an exception in established companies



Companies are set up to consistently deliver the same products and/or services to customers. Customers expect always the product that they know from their previous purchases. This can be toothpaste, ice-cream, sneakers or cars. Yes, some relatively small improvements, like a different flavor of ice-cream or leather seats in the car, are accepted by the customers. Only these small product improvements work. 

The situation becomes radically different when these established companies try to enter new markets or introduce new business models. Also, organizational change rarely works.
People are mostly considered a necessary evil. Changes are geared towards increasing profit and not increasing employee satisfaction. 

Change or innovation is not part of the core of these companies. It is treated as an exception and not as part of the DNA. The DNA is just to deliver consistently the same products to the customer. That is why it is very hard to transform (big) companies or introduce radical innovations.

Real change, transformation, and innovation come mostly from startups. They have no legacy or obligations and it is much easier for them to think out of the box.

Same with cities: it is extremely hard to change (especially the infrastructure of) existing cities. Hence there is a growing number of projects to build completely new cities. 

It is really like this saying: ‘Never try to teach a pig to sing. It annoys the pig and wastes your time.’

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