94 / SEEDWORLD.COM DECEMBER 2017 INNOVATION. It’s a big buzzword these days. A Google search of the phrase “innovation in seed” turns up 96 million results. Hardly a day goes by when a new technology in seed or agriculture isn’t hailed as innovative. “Much of the innovation for increased productivity and market opportuni- ties for farmers is delivered in seed. Innovation carried in and on the seed can increase yield, bring health benefits and help reduce agriculture’s environ- mental footprint. However, in order to bring new products to farmers, the seed industry needs a policy and regulatory environment that fosters innovation,” the Canadian Seed Trade Association states on its website. Virtually everyone can agree that innovation is a good thing, and enabling it is even better. But what exactly is innova- tion, and how do we go about cultivating it? And why do some innovations take off while others languish in obscurity or fail altogether? “The problem with innovation is there’s too many different ways of being able to broadcast its influence. It’s like the blind man and the elephant — everyone has a little part of it and no one can quite describe the whole,” says Rohit Shukla, chief executive officer of the California- based Larta Institute, which specializes in turning innovations into commercially successful enterprises that positively impact humanity. Creating something new and exciting doesn’t ensure your success — in fact, it could actually spell trouble if you’re not ready to face obstacles that may arise. Marc Zienkiewicz mzienkiewicz@issuesink.com Shukla has advised governments, multilateral organizations, communities and enterprises throughout the world. As an adviser to the Malaysian govern- ment, he helped to influence policy on incentives and initiatives focused on agri- culture- and biotech-led entrepreneurship. “There are many aspects to innova- tion. The way it’s been taken too often is that it has to be something so new as to transform humanity. That’s a tall order, and just because you might be innovating in some way, doesn’t mean you’re going to be successful.” Innovation as the key to success is a message often taken for granted, says Shukla. But, he notes, blind faith in the belief that innovation leads to a successful outcome for the innovator can often be a rude awakening for the innovator. “Of course, an important part of innova- tion is obviously the idea itself, something that has some novelty, something that adds to the body of what already exists. Humanity has already done so much; all we really need to do is look at the influence of our new knowledge, which is coming all the time from new insights in science. Innovation Offers No Guarantees Rohit Shukla is chief executive officer of the California-based Larta Institute. Wheat breeder Ron DePauw is known as Canada’s “Billion-Dollar Man”.