The myths of corporate innovation

IF INNOVATION has an iconography, it involves a genius, a breakthrough and a dash of serendipity.

Alexander Fleming notices mould growing on a plate of bacteria and discovers penicillin. John Snow produces a map of the victims of a cholera outbreak in 19th-century London and traces the outbreak to a single water pump. A German chemist called August Kekule falls asleep, dreams about snakes eating their tails and realises upon waking that the benzene molecule has the shape of a ring.

Moments like these make for good film scenes, but they are precisely the wrong way to think about corporate innovation. Firms make advances through sustained effort, the passage of time and teamwork. Take, for example, three stories of innovation from the new season of Boss Class, our podcast on how to be a great manager.