Nurturing Innovation

The reality is, innovation is more than generating an idea—it is a long, collaborative journey. Daniel Epstein, the CEO of Unreasonable Group, an organization that brings together a global network of entrepreneurs who are tackling some of the world’s most pressing challenges with investors, creatives, and business leaders, explains it like this: “Business in the 20th century was oftentimes defined by having a competitive advantage. Business in the 21st century will be defined by having a collaborative advantage.” A considerable body of academic research into social networks, psychology, creativity, and the entrepreneurial process validates that point of view. It shows that innovation is more likely to succeed when it is a curated process in which an intermediary takes responsibility for sparking and sustaining collaboration among the people involved.