The Innonaut - enthusiasm for innovations* Why did I start writing a blog about the world of innovation management, strategies and...

The world's most successful automobile manufacturer is sounding the alarm. Despite record sales, Toyota warns: "If nothing changes, we will not survive." How can it be that the very company that has perfected lean management and efficiency is now fighting for survival? The paradox behind this is highly relevant for leaders: it's not a lack of expertise that becomes a problem, but rather too much of it. This is precisely where what I call the expert trap in innovation begins.

How does one start slowly and arrive faster? What do Nemawashi and Gemba actually mean in innovation management? I've witnessed decision-making processes in Japanese teams where small talk took up most of the meeting, but the actual decision was then made rather unspectacularly in just a few minutes. This wasn't because the decision was unimportant, but because all participants had already agreed on what would be decided. This process is called Nemawashi. In Germany, on the o