Scott Kippes

But no one ever tells you that. We’re conditioned to think that someone like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk stands up on stage, announces that the world has changed, and everybody just goes along. It never really happens that way because innovation is never a single event. It is a long process of discovery, engineering, and transformation that usually takes about 30 years.

We always think the next big thing will be obvious, but in truth, it often starts out looking like nothing at all. When something truly has the power to change the world, the world isn’t ready for it. It needs to build advocacy, gain traction among a particular industry or field, and combine with other innovations before it can make an impact.

Make no mistake. Innovation isn’t about ideas, it’s about solving problems. The truth is that nobody cares about your ideas, they care about the problems you can solve for them. The reason most people can’t innovate isn’t because they don’t have ideas, but because they lack the perseverance needed to stick with a really tough problem until it’s cracked.