Some tools do have a lasting impact

That being said, some tools have become so widely used and embedded in how we manage organizations that we forget that at one point they were brand-new ideas. Melinda Merino, my editor at HBR, noted that we’ve been experiencing a broad evolution, including ideas such as thinking about ecosystems and two-sided markets, the role of purpose, funnels and flywheels, growth mindset, the importance of diversity, the importance of learning, distinguishing between intelligent failures and other kinds and so on. I would even argue that we have the scaffolding of understanding of what’s necessary for ongoing innovation, which would be a lot easier to access if we eliminated some of the dysfunctional incentive systems that lead people to avoid or ignore it.