"Focus on Problems, Not Ideas"

"1. Don’t Get Trapped in Your P&L
For any business to succeed over the long term, it must earn a return that exceeds its cost of capital. That’s why good managers put so much focus on measuring and managing return on investment (ROI) as a basic operational practice. It is through continuously making incremental progress in lowering costs and increasing revenues that firms achieve competitive advantage in their industry.
.
Yet every enterprise is essentially a square-peg business waiting for a round-hole world. Unexpected changes in technology, customer preferences, and regulation can disrupt even the best-run operation. When that happens, traditional practices will only lead to getting better and better at things people care about less and less.
...
2. Focus on Problems, Not Ideas
Another common misconception about innovation is that it is about ideas. It’s not. The truth is nobody cares about what ideas you have. They care about what problems you can solve.
.
While brainstorming about ideas can be helpful in an operational context, because problems are front and center, for innovation identifying a meaningful problem is half the job."

Trechos retirados de "4 Ways Leaders Can Get More from Their Company’s Innovation Efforts"