by Kion Sawney

The Vanderbilt Library Lecture Series on Wednesday afternoon welcomed David Owens to talk on why innovation fails. Drawing on years of experience in the corporate world and academia, Owens led a discussion on the six major types of constraints that hinder innovation.

Most people associate innovation with the slogan of “thinking out of the box.” Owens argues that the only way to create innovation is to understand the constraints facing the problem. Thinking outside of the box can only go so far if the questions aren’t properly understood. Through communication of constraints innovators can create the proper conditions to foster innovation instead of stopping it. (more)