To innovate, hire the 'wrong' people

INNOVATION success is often attributed to individuals with outstanding attributes. Examples of such so-called innovation champions include Rudolf Wanzl Senior who started the corporate success story of the world leader in shopping carts and airport baggage carts (Wanzl) as a locksmith in Giebau (Sudetenland) in 1918; Nespresso's former CEO Jean-Paul Gaillard who turned (n)espresso into a very profitable luxury brand; and the "Father of the Digital Revolution", Steve Jobs.

The champion concept can be traced back to MIT professor Donald A Schoen who observed in a 1963 study on radical military-related innovations that they were often driven by extraordinarily engaged persons who played a key role throughout the entire process from ideation to implementation: "The champion must be a man willing to put himself on the line for an idea of doubtful success."

Champions are the individuals who emerge to take creative ideas (which they may or may not have generated) and bring them alive. Their role is critical as innovation implies change (innovations can range from small incremental improvements, such as Nabisco's extension of the Oreo product line, to radical breakthroughs, such as Toyota's battery-fuelled Prius), insecurity, resistance and risks.