Myth 1: Great Ideas Win on Their Own

The best idea doesn’t always rise to the top. Execution, sponsorship, and timing matter more. Average concepts succeed when they have clear leadership backing and operational follow-through. We’ve seen this repeatedly: without committed resources and clear priorities, even brilliant ideas stall.

What to do instead: Build cross-functional sponsorship early. Define what success looks like. Secure the right funding and talent. Make it someone’s day job.

Myth 2: Innovation Needs a Big Budget

Some of the strongest breakthroughs start with constraint. Limited funding forces clarity, faster testing, and a focus on the core problem. Big budgets can create false confidence and waste.

What to do instead: Set disciplined constraints. Use rapid prototypes to validate assumptions. Spend time in market with real users before scaling.

Myth 3: Innovation is Separate from Delivery

Many organisations spin up labs that never connect to the main business. This disconnect drains credibility and leads to innovation theatre. True impact happens when innovation integrates with delivery, governance, and incentives.

What to do instead: Design handoffs early. Align success metrics to business performance. Make sure innovation teams partner closely with delivery leads.

Practical Actions

• Run short, structured discovery sprints to pressure-test ideas.

• Define exit criteria for pilots: when to scale, pivot, or stop.

• Build an innovation playbook that clarifies funding, governance, and decision rights.

Who Else Does This Work

Firms like Fluxx, Slalom, and FutureGov help clients build innovation capability. We respect their work. At Relentica, we focus on integrated innovation – from concept to delivery – so new ideas don’t just start well, but end well.

The Takeaway

Innovation isn’t a side project or a branding exercise. It’s a disciplined system that combines creativity with execution. The myth is that good ideas win by themselves. The reality is that they survive when they’re sponsored, structured, and aligned to real business outcomes.