Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower – Steve Jobs

Hamed Saber, Flickr Creative Commons

How much of a leader can an organization take? Geoffrey Moore's classic book on the technology adoption life cycle, makes you wonder how much an organization can take of change.

If the measure of leadership is implemented innovation, and the percentage of early adopters, compared to majority, is anything like Roger's bell curve - the challenge is enormous. Early adopters are willing to make 80% of the effort to achieve 20% benefit, whereas the majority will do the opposite.

Implemented innovation, by definition, requires experimenting with unproven techniques. The overwhelming majority is not willing to make the extra effort necessary to make the new techniques work, the need for Leadership becomes paramount. I have a feeling that Open Management might be a part of the answer to the challenge.