I’m in the innovation business, which sounds sexy and exciting, but is more like pulling teeth out of a grumpy bear. But innovation entails three words most managers dread — change, experimentation and risk.

Deep in the roots of management thinking is this obsession with efficiency and the assembly line model. But this efficiency model works when you have demand in emerging markets, but not so well in mature markets where there is an oversupply of options or where it’s increasingly harder to impress customers.

Most organizations won’t change until they have to. However, companies will change when there’s a real threat or…