CHAPTER 3
The Cult of Great Ideas
Jean Renoir wrote a letter to Ingrid Bergman, saying “The cult of great ideas is dangerous and may destroy the real basis for great achievements, that is the daily, humble work within the framework of a profession.” As an artist, he commended humility to other artists. As a businessperson, he introduced two concepts at the heart of modern innovation within companies: great ideas are not enough; innovation is a joint effort.
The Vice Chairman likes good ideas but opposes fundamentalist beliefs. The tendency to worship ideas creates critical blindness. Blindness leads to orthodoxies leading to imprinting ideas rather than formulating experiments and tests. The sheer number of ideas rules in brainstorming sessions. ...
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