Perhaps innovation has been misunderstood and therefore its full potential
not realized. At the very least, the vital importance of continuously fostering
and maintaining an innovation culture has been underplayed. While many
companies have at one point in time spoken to the importance of innovation
and some have gone so far as to truly embrace innovation, few have been
able to maintain a culture that supports innovation as a top strategic priority.
With the myriad of benefits that accompany true innovation, there simply is
not a time when innovation should not be at the top of senior management's
``to-do'' list. Now more than ever, companies need to be cultivating
innovation within their organizations and implementing systems that will
ensure its success and longevity. This begs the question, what is innovation
really, and why are not more companies doing it?