Scaling and Innovation

Scholars have noted that most new ideas are poor ones that won't be adopted. So how can organizations integrate innovation productively and prevent it from having unintended consequences?

In this recording from SSIR's 2019 NMI conference, Christian Seelos, coauthor of the best-selling book Innovation and Scaling for Impact and co-director of the Global Innovation for Impact Lab at Stanford PACS, explores the "innovation pathologies" that can derail the best intentions. He also discusses the ways organizations such as Aravind and BRAC have sidestepped these threats by blending innovation with scaling.

Seelos argues that process is what's important: "If you operate innovation from an attitude of learning ... you cannot be frustrated and you will never fail. Innovation is just replacing uncertainty with knowledge."