In the real world outside of academia, we have the same problem where corporate employees are not encouraged to think, they are trained to do things exactly according to the employee manual, industry best management practices (BMP) or the instructions of their bosses, but their bosses. are they doing the same? Is anyone, even top management or the board of directors, already thinking? Are you busy copying your competitors’ marketing campaigns, business strategies, and processes as well? Apparently, which is pretty obvious by reading trade magazines and following industry associations.

In fact, many industry associations (bureaucratic status quo) have training courses for people in the industry, but that just means that once everyone is trained, all companies are on the same track at the same speed with the same power and the same rules as everyone else. Welcome to the human rat race – it’s more like NASCAR than revolutionary innovation or great technological advancements. How can you or your company win if you simply copy what others are doing or trying to do? How can your company create a breakthrough or the next novelty?

We Americans complain when China and others steal our intellectual property, and yet what are we doing to ourselves? Nobody thinks anymore? Every time I turn around I see the same thing. What happened to American innovation, creative problem solving, and that “can do” attitude that when the will is there, we will find a way? Do we see only a few corporations that are already thinking or pushing the limits? Why?

Do we have too many restrictive rules and regulations? Are too many companies worried about lawsuits or pullbacks in share capital, stock price, and quarterly earnings? Are there too many collective action lawyers ready to strike, preventing companies from taking risks? Are companies overly concerned about boycotts fueled by political correctness in our evolving society, be careful not to offend anyone, be safe, don’t rock the boat?

Are all of these things mentioned above, plus the slow and stultifying indoctrination of the media, academia, and the inherent and pervasive indoctrination of the government? Perhaps, but what is the underlying cause. Humans are not getting any less intelligent. IQ scores have been increasing for 100 years. Could social media be involved in this problem that I have observed? Some say that social media has helped innovation, right? It seems that faster communication would increase original thinking and make everyone a little more innovative, but it doesn’t. It seems like it’s weakening our society more than helping foster creative minds and making us all innovative.