We've all heard the line, "if you build a better mousetrap, people will beat a path to your door." The belief behind the words is that innovation is rewarded in the marketplace. Like most sayings of its kind, it is both true and false. While most of us marvel at innovation, few embrace it from the onset -- the electronic mousetrap, the Edsel, sandal-toed athletic shoes, great TV shows -- the list goes on. Those few who support innovation have become known as Early Adopters. In most cases, there are not enough Early Adopters to support many products in the marketplace. So the products die. Most of us are safe players. We'll wait for the innovation to go mainstream and then buy it if it's still available. This "safe player" mentality is supported by marketers when they re-introduce a product as "New and Improved" rather than launch a new entry. It is demonstrated by Broadway where there are typically more revivals than there are new plays being presented. Too much money is at risk to take the chance on an innovation. That's the bad news -- it's hard to launch a truly innovative idea/product/service. The good news is that playwrights keep writing new plays, inventors keep inventing new products and service providers keep innovating -- despite the odds.

Most new ideas, even the very best, face an uphill battle for acceptance in the minds, hearts and pocketbooks of their consumers. Those that survive often do so as a result of an understanding of the commercialization process and hard, stubborn, work on the part of their creators and backers, as much as acceptance in the marketplace. Are you doing all you can to nurture and support your innovative ideas so that they can be the ones that become the products/services of tomorrow?