????雖然有很多案例研究和媒體專欄都信奉“創新”策略的重要性，但在現實生活中，很多企業依然在為創新而上下求索。這倒不是說它們拿不出足夠多的新鮮點子，或者說缺乏有創造力的員工。事實上，管理者們可能會發現他們根本無法在公司現有的架構下實施創新，或者是分心于其他事情，特別是那些更合乎時宜（甚至可能帶來盈利）的發明創造。

????除了內部因素，阻礙公司創新的還有很多宏觀的外部因素，包括當前的歐洲經濟困境、某些行業整體消亡或至少正在經歷艱難的轉型期（比如平面和電視媒體，還有投資銀行）以及全球金融勢力格局的變遷（比如，新興市場、尤其是中國和印度的崛起）。

????但公司創新的最大難題可能還是必須不斷重新審視“創新”理念本身，做到與時俱進。看看通用電氣（GE）最近發布的全球創新晴雨表（Global Innovation Barometer），該項研究調查了全球22個國家近3,000名高管。92%的受訪者表示，創新是“提高國民經濟競爭力的重要組成部分”。86%的受訪者稱，在他們國家，“創新是創造就業崗位的最佳途徑”。這些都不稀奇。然而，稀奇的是，另一個強有力的數據是88%的受訪者表示，21世紀公司創新的方式將“完全不同于以往任何時候”。是的，這個結論聽起來令人激動，但也讓人氣餒。創新的門檻更高了：在某個特定行業，創造出像“iPod”一樣的革命性產品，然后效法蘋果（Apple）倍受推崇、崇尚設計的道路，僅僅做到這些已經不夠了。正如史蒂夫?喬布斯一直鼓勵他的團隊要做到的那樣，公司必須“另辟蹊徑”。

????當然，簡單復制一家成功公司“另辟蹊徑”的做法并不能確保會獲得類似的成果。必須重新思考，對你而言，2012年的“另辟蹊徑”到底意味著什么。貴公司的創新嘗試真的能創造出獨一無二的產品和服務嗎？你有獨創的人力資源政策留住最佳員工，同時招募、留住下一代的公司領路人嗎？你的管理風格有助于界定（或者至少反映）21世紀第二個10年、而不是本世紀初已經過時的領導技巧嗎？

????Despite the many case studies and op-eds you might read on the importance of "innovation" as a strategy, in real life many businesses are struggling to be innovative. It doesn't mean that they can't come up with enough new ideas or that they don't have creative people on staff. Instead, executives might find that they cannot implement innovation within their company's structure, or that they get bogged down by distractions that only seem to be taking them on the path to inventions that are timely--and potentially profitable.

????In addition, many of the barriers to corporate innovation are forces that are much bigger than internal ones. These hurdles range from the economic challenges in Europe; entire industries dying or at least experiencing troubling states of transition (print and television media, for example, or investment banking); and the shifts in global financial power that are taking place (the rise of China and India, among other "emerging" markets).

????But perhaps the biggest dilemma that businesses face when it comes to innovation is that the concept of "innovation" itself must be constantly re-thought to remain relevant. Look at GE's recently released Global Innovation Barometer, a global study that surveyed nearly 3,000 senior executives in 22 nations around the world. Ninety-two percent of respondents said innovation is "the main ingredient for a more competitive national economy" and 86 percent said that "innovation is the best way to create jobs" in their countries. Not surprising. But then another strong statistic emerges: Eighty-eight percent said that companies will innovate in ways that are "totally different than ever before" in the 21st century. Yes, this is an exciting, forward-thinking conclusion, but it is also a daunting one. The ante has been upped: no longer is it enough to want to create "the iPod" of a given industry and follow in Apple's much-admired, design-worshipping footsteps. Companies have to "think different," as Steve Jobs always encouraged his team to do.

????Of course, simply copying how a successful company does things "different," won't automatically ensure parallel results. You have to rethink what "think different" really means in 2012--for you. Are your company's innovation efforts really resulting in unique work? Do you have original human resources policies to retain your top performers and to recruit—and retain--the next generation of leaders? Will your own management style help define, or at least reflect, the winning business strategies of the 2010s, and not the outdated leadership tactics of the 2000s?

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