Fanning Innovation, Euro-Style
Stephen Wildstrom has an interesting article on innovation and its problems in Europe …
notice this statement by Marten Mickos, CEO of MySQL:
“This continent is one of the most conservative places on the planet,” […] He notes that Europe has a long history of successful invention, but a weak history of turning those inventions into innovations, which he defined as something “that makes money or saves money.” Real innovators, he said, “don’t mind being laughed at. This is perhaps not the place for people with the courage to be different.”
and
There was general agreement that changing a culture deeply suspicious of the values that foster entrepreneurship — ambition, the willingness to stand out and be different, a desire to challenge the established order, even a bit of greed — will be hard to come by.
read more at BusinessWeek
