They flew the team to Austin. Rented a co-working space for a week. Whiteboards. Post-its. “Think big.”
They came back with twelve ideas. Presented to leadership. Leadership said “love the energy” and “let’s prioritize.” Prioritizing meant choosing the one idea that didn’t threaten anything, funding it at 10% of what it needed, and celebrating the “culture of innovation.”
The other eleven ideas died in a shared Google Doc that nobody will ever open again.
Innovation theater is the company performing creativity without tolerating its consequences. Real innovation is expensive, uncomfortable, and threatens existing revenue. The offsite costs $40K and threatens nothing.