What’s real innovation? large dark failures & small powerful lights
The constant innovation question: how many failures before market changing breakthroughs? Look to Edison & the lightbulb. 1000’s. And Google X is a perfect example of this. Here’s how they do it.
Japan’s YOY labs does the same for example with their “lampshade” light above, shown at this years Salone Del Mobile, the worlds largest design show and just like Google X does the same in their unmarked brown brick building – trials and trials and trials until one out of maybe 10000 trails works. How do they do both firms, a tiny japaneese design house and titan google do this so easily? They are not afraid to say no.
The recent article in Fast company The Truth About Google X: An Exclusive Look Behind The Secretive Lab’s Closed Doors goes where other articles do not: to the personalities of those who work there: multidiciplinary and out there. Just like the early days at the famous Xerox PARC labs. Why? Because failure is not only tolerated, it is encouraged to get to the end point: ideas that stick and can change entire markets – the correct definition of innovation.