Innovative ideas: Why companies whiff on 'em

Some of this does involve embracing the middle and lower levels.

Let's talk for a few seconds about innovative ideas. We'll start with a story.

I had a boss once, back in the day, who used to call everything "smart." It was the de facto buzzword of this situation. "That's smart," he'd tell someone. "Those are some innovative ideas." This is a weird kind of boss to have. On the one hand, most of the shit you propose or…