The Other Side of Innovation

INTRODUCTION

Making Innovation Happen

THE CLIMBERS AWOKE just past midnight after hardly sleeping at all. They were excited and alert. They were among the nearly ten thousand climbers each year who attempt to reach the heavily glaciated summit of Mount Rainier in the northwestern United States. It is perhaps the world’s most difficult climb that is accessible to novices, so long as they are accompanied by expert guides.

The first hour of the climb was easy. Each subsequent hour was harder. Finally, at dawn, the climbers got their first glimpse of the summit. It was as they had imagined—majestic and inspiring, gleaming in the morning sun. The climbers ...