I see nothing in it new and valuable. What is valuable is not new, and what is new is not valuable.
—Daniel Webster (1782–1852) American Statesman, Lawyer
Innovation by definition will not be accepted at first. It takes repeated attempts, endless demonstrations, monotonous rehearsals before innovation can be accepted and internalized by an organization. This requires ‘courageous patience’.
—Warren Bennis (1925–2014) American Business Academic, Author
Science advances funeral by funeral.
—Max Planck (1858–1947) German Theoretical Physicist
It’s been very important throughout my career that I’ve met all the guys I’ve copied, because at each stage they’ve said, “Don’t play like me, play like you.”
—Eric Clapton (b.1945) English Rock, Blues Guitarist
Begin with another’s to end with your own.
—Baltasar Gracian (1601–58) Spanish Scholar, Prose Writer
Innovation is not the product of logical thought, although the result is tied to logical structure.
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born Physicist
Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It’s not about money. It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it.
—Steve Jobs (1955–2011) American Entrepreneur, Businessperson
Create your own method. Don’t depend slavishly on mine. Make up something that will work for you! But keep breaking traditions, I beg you.
—Konstantin Stanislavski (1863–1938) Russian Actor, Theater Personality
Innovation is fostered by information gathered from new connections; from insights gained by journeys into other disciplines or places; from active, collegial networks and fluid, open boundaries. Innovation arises from ongoing circles of exchange, where information is not just accumulated or stored, but created. Knowledge is generated anew from connections that weren’t there before.
—Margaret J. Wheatley American Management Consultant, Writer
All cases are unique and very similar to others.
—T. S. Eliot (1888–1965) American-born British Poet, Dramatist, Literary Critic
Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or a different service. It is capable of being presented as a discipline, capable of being learned, capable of being practiced. Entrepreneurs need to search purposefully for the sources of innovation, the changes and their symptoms that indicate opportunities for successful innovation. And they need to know and to apply the principles of successful innovation.
—Peter Drucker (1909–2005) Austrian-born Management Consultant
An original writer is not one who imitates nobody, but one whom nobody can imitate.
—Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand (1768–1848) French Writer, Academician, Statesman
You let me throw the bricks through the front window. You go in at the back and take the swag.
—Ezra Pound (1885-1972) American Poet, Translator, Critic
Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
Men often applaud an imitation and hiss the real thing.
—Aesop (620–564 BCE) Greek Fabulist
Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear but forgetting where you heard it.
—Laurence J. Peter (1919–90) Canadian-born American Educator, Author
Everything has been said, and we have come too late, now that men have been living and thinking for seven thousand years and more.
—Jean de La Bruyere (1645–96) French Satiric Moralist, Author
A society made up of individuals who were all capable of original thought would probably be unendurable.
—H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American Journalist, Literary Critic
Never before in history has innovation offered promise of so much to so many in so short a time.
—Bill Gates (b.1955) American Businessperson, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Author
If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.
—Woody Allen (b.1935) American Film Actor, Director
Originality is the one thing which unoriginal minds cannot feel the use of… They are more in need of originality, the less they are conscious of the want.
—John Stuart Mill (1806–73) English Philosopher, Economist
As the births of living creatures, at first, are ill-shapen: so are all Innovations, which are the births of time.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
Nearly all our originality comes from the stamp that time impresses upon our sensibility.
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–67) French Poet, Art Critic, Essayist, Translator
Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.
—Steve Jobs (1955–2011) American Entrepreneur, Businessperson
Dislike of innovation proceeds sometimes from the disgust excited by false humanity, canting hypocrisy, and silly enthusiasm.
—Sydney Smith (1771–1845) English Clergyman, Essayist, Wit
Entrepreneurs innovate. Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship. It is the act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth.
—Peter Drucker (1909–2005) Austrian-born Management Consultant
I believe in being an innovator.
—Walt Disney (1901–66) American Entrepreneur
When there is an original sound in the world, it makes a hundred echoes.
—John Augustus Shedd (1858–1931) American Author
The original is unfaithful to the translation.
—Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) Argentine Writer, Essayist, Poet
Anyone who has invented a better mousetrap, or the contemporary equivalent, can expect to be harassed by strangers demanding that you read their unpublished manuscripts or undergo the humiliation of public speaking, usually on remote Midwestern campuses.
—Barbara Ehrenreich (1941–2022) American Social Critic, Essayist