On July 1, 2009, Konrad Yababulski http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/commentary/canadas-innovation-gap/article1203108/ has written an important and thorough article in the Globe and Mail. I believe that he has highlighted one of the most important policy issues for Canadian business right now. I am also very worried about the lack of concern that our politicians and business leaders seem to have for this very area. There is a quote from Gary Hamal, a prominent American business writer. He says “out there in some garage is an entrepreneur who’s forging a bullet with your company’s name on it. You’ve got one option now – to shoot first. You’ve got to out-innovate the innovators.” You’ve shown in your article that Finland and many other countries are doing just this to Canada. My experience is this is not a new issue, however, it isn’t being championed by anyone on a regular basis.
I believe there are a couple of things missing in Canada as a whole. A commitment to excellence, a willingness to take risk, and the tenacity to stay the course. Of course there are examples of this, RIM being a very easy fill in the blank response.
Our current governing party, the Conservatives, have squandered a surplus, and nowhere in their attempt to pull Canada out of this recession is there any investment in leveraging Canada’s strengths and creating any incentive for business or any other organization for that matter to re-invent itself to be more innovative and relevant. The same could be said for the province of Alberta. What a lost opportunity to invest in the future of that province. Instead, tax cuts were the strongest policy of the day. This very down turn represents the creative elements for the next big breakthrough if the principles of creativity and innovation are applied.
This issue needs to remain on the front page. We move slowly in Canada, however, my faith is that we will catch on!
