AoM - Innovation offices eventually become the bureaucracy

The Art of Maneuver

May 13 2021 • 7 mins

“Innovation” offices cannot survive beyond the founders, they simply become part of the bureaucracy at that point. Think of Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. He only invests in companies that still have their founder. His philosophy is that once a Founder is gone, they never truly innovate again. They might maintain market share and come out with interesting products, but they won’t come up with a revolutionary product.

Once an exciting new innovation program is handed off from its founder, you can't expect the new leaders to truly own and lead the program. It’s not human nature to inherit something and truly make it one's own. Innovation is meant to disrupt the bureaucracy, but these offices that remain simply bloat the bureaucracy over time.