Among the highest achievements in management are innovations. Genuine innovations break through what previously seemed to be a firmly established framework and redefine boundaries completely. They establish something radically new, a new paradigm, a new way of thinking, often even a worldview or a philosophy of life. They open up something that did not exist before and was not even imaginable – and something that one does not want at all, but instead fights against fiercely.

No innovation has ever been welcome, except in military armament. The vast majority of innovations had a long history of development lasting decades and faced a hard struggle before they prevailed, as was the case with the automobile. Many attempts fail along the way. The overall course of fundamental innovations was aptly described by the Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter: it is creative destruction. Genuine innovations create something so new and better that what existed before is destroyed or rendered meaningless by them.

People like to believe that new paradigms appear suddenly. But this is not true. They only enter awareness suddenly and unexpectedly; behind them lies a development phase lasting many years or decades that largely goes unnoticed.

This is true in business, but also in other fields. As a passionate alpinist, I have observed this in the mountains as well. For me, it was mountaineering – with its similarities to and differences from management. My alpine sport helped me to show myself what is important in order to become effective. Through mountain sports, I learned an astonishing amount about innovation, especially revolutionary innovation. It helped me to better understand innovations in business and to develop sound and effective management for innovation.

Perhaps the most well-known innovation in alpinism itself was the consciously planned and successfully executed ascent of Mount Everest in alpine style by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler. It replaced the previously accepted, cumbersome expeditions by transferring methods known from the Alps to high-altitude mountaineering – in small teams, without oxygen, fixed ropes, or supply logistics. Speed often meant a much lower risk. Time spent in the death zone was minimized. This innovation was to prove the beginning of a major paradigm shift that remained unrecognized for a long time.

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