Taking in innovation quotes from some of the world's most successful entrepreneurs and leaders can help refocus on our mission.
We've put together some of the best innovation quotes together from both historical pioneers and those leading the way today to keep you inspired and galvanised as you grow.
Don't Be Afraid to Fail
- All aspiring entrepreneurs should remember that failure doesn't mean the end of the road. It can lay the groundwork for something even greater. - Reshma Saujani, Founder of Girls Who Code. Source: Brave, Not Perfect: Fear less, Fail More and Live Bolder.
- That sense of trying, experiencing errors, learning from these, and making improvements is innovation. - Mat Hunter, Co-CEO at Plus X Innovation.
- Innovation is this amazing intersection between someone's imagination and the reality in which they live. The problem is, many companies don't have great imagination, but their view of reality tells them that it's impossible to do what they imagine. - Ron Johnson, CEO, Enjoy Technology.
- Trying to do it all and expecting it all can be done exactly right is a recipe for disappointment. Perfection is the enemy. • Sheryl Sandberg, Former COO, Meta Platforms. Source: Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead.
- I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. - Thomas Edison, Inventor.
Take the Leap
- "A ship is safe in harbour, but that's not what ships are for." - William Shedd, Theologian.
- "Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity, not a threat" - Steve Jobs, Co-founder and CEO of Apple.
- "Finding opportunity is a matter of believing it's there." - Barbara Corcoran, Businesswoman, investor, and consultant. Source: Shark Tales.
- "When the winds of change blow, some people build walls, and others build windmills." Ancient Chinese proverb.
- "If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong." - Charles Kettering, Inventor, Engineer, Businessman and holder of 186 patents.
Listen to Others
- If you look at history, innovation doesn't come just from giving people incentives; it comes from creating environments where their ideas can connect." -Steven Johnson, Science Author and Media Theorist. Source: Wired.
- When you want to innovate, you have to either shut up and listen or ask an open question, and then you listen like hell to their response." - Mat Hunter, Co-CEO at Plus X Innovation
- Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." - Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft. Source: Business @ the Speed of Thought.
Think Beyond Today
- The best way to predict the future is to create it." - Alan Kay, Computer Scientist. Source: Xerox PARC Conference.
- The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but building on the new." - Socrates.
- The vast majority of human beings dislike and even actually dread all notions with which they are not familiar... Hence it comes about that at their first appearance innovators have generally been persecuted, and always derided as fools and madmen." - Aldous Huxley, Writer and Philosopher. Source: Brave New World.
- If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old." - Peter Drucker, Management Consultant, Author and 'Father' of Management Thinking
Take Action
- You can't wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club." - Albert Einstein, Theoretical Physicist.
- Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things." -Theodore Levitt, Professor, Harvard Business School.
- The last 1% of effort is what sets you apart from everyone else who stopped at 99%." - Lina Chen, co-founder, Nix Hydra.
- We led with our conviction rather than rational, because rational said it was impossible." - Daniel Ek, CEO, Spotify. Source: Forbes.
Believe in Yourself
- You miss 100 per cent of the shots you never take." - Wayne Gretzky, Professional Ice Hockey Player. Source: Interview with Bob McKenzie.
- The real source of wealth and capital in this new era is not material things. It is the human mind, the human spirit, the human imagination, and our faith in the future." - Steve Forbes, Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Magazine. Source: The New Birth of Freedom.
- I learned to always take on things I'd never done before. Growth and comfort do not coexist." - Ginni Rometty, Chair, President and CEO of IBM. Source: Fortune.
To have transformative ideas and make them happen; you need space, time, focus and the right people around you.
Plus X Innovation gives people the tools to collaborate, build, create, test, learn and make their ideas real. Because innovation only happens when we try something new, collaborate with someone unexpected, and get a different perspective. Find out more about the Plus X Innovation formula.