Innovation Demands More Than Ideas, It Demands Courage
Let’s be honest, “innovation” is one of those buzzwords that’s lost its shine.
And I get it. Innovation has become the go-to word for anything new, different or (dare I say) slightly techy — whether or not it actually moves the needle. It’s a label slapped on safe ideas to make them sound bold. It’s overused. It’s misused. And too often, it’s just noise.
So much so that most folks roll their eyes when they hear it from people like me.
But despite all of that, real innovation still matters.
Innovation that challenges norms, stretches people and actually makes things better. Not just in theory. Not just on whiteboards. But in the day-to-day, boots-on-the-ground reality of building something that lasts.
And I still believe in it. Not as a buzzword, but as a behavior. As a culture. As a choice.
Because innovation isn’t just about creativity, it’s about courage. And in construction, or any industry really, where the safe bet is usually the default, courage is exactly what we need.
Innovate In Case of Emergency
We usually talk about innovation when something is broken. A job goes sideways, the spreadsheet starts hemorrhaging margin or the phone rings with bad news from the field — and suddenly, we’re open to new ideas.
“Oh my, the business is struggling. I know! We need innovation.”
Sound familiar?
But the reality is the opposite. The best innovations don’t show up in desperation. They showed up before we knew they were needed (think Uber or Airbnb). They showed up when things (taxis and hotels) were working yet still someone had the courage to ask: Could this work better?
That’s a far scarier question than it seems. Because it means introducing chaos into something that feels predictable. It means risking something that already “works” to build something that might work even better.
And that takes guts.
Real Innovation Happens Before Pulling the Alarm
If we only innovate when forced to — we’ve already lost.
The most forward-thinking companies today are baking innovation into their DNA. They’re building environments where every team member (from executive to individual contributor) is empowered to challenge the status quo.
And when they do? The results are extraordinary.
In construction, this means not waiting for project breakdowns or massive cost overruns. Take Swinerton, for example — a firm that didn’t just bolt innovation onto the side of the org chart. They built a structured innovation program, hired dedicated leadership and created a measurable process to pilot and scale new ideas.
For example, they designed a mass timber fastening machine in-house, speeding up installations by up to 75% and reducing crew fatigue and ergonomic strain. That’s innovation with a heartbeat, not just about speed or efficiency, but about people.
They didn’t wait for a problem to solve. They looked for the opportunity to improve something that was already working, building something better for the builders themselves.
That’s courage. That’s innovation.
Innovation Thrives in Risk — Our Kryptonite
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: safe spaces don’t create breakthroughs. And in construction in particular, we are risk adverse.
Let’s face it, if you’re only trying new ideas in areas with low risk, low exposure and low pressure…you’ll get low-impact results. Use your innovation in the places where the margin is razor-thin and the schedule is brutal. Where the downside is steep if it doesn’t work, but the upside is massive if it does.
That’s where innovation belongs, high-risk, high-reward.
Because that’s where it matters most.
How to Build a Culture That Actually Innovates
If you’ve held on this long, maybe you’re convinced. So now what? How do we build an innovation engine that doesn’t rely on crisis, but rather turns possibility into a repeatable process?
Here’s a few lessons I’ve pulled from watching some of the best in the business:
1. Innovation must be intentional, not accidental.
Great ideas don’t show up on command. You need a system to capture, test and scale them. That means structured pilot programs. It means measuring outcomes, not opinions. And it means having a clear roadmap from “idea” to “implementation.”
Walters Group built a dedicated R&D team with a playground for testing everything from tech to materials. The message is loud and clear: innovation isn’t a side hustle — it’s core to how they build.
2. Everyone is an innovator — especially the field.
If your innovation program only lives in the IT department, it’s already dead. The workers see the friction, living in the inefficiencies. If you want better ideas, start where the work is happening.
Robins & Morton runs internal “Innovation Awards,” where every employee is invited to submit ideas. A past winner? A multi-camera retrofit for older heavy equipment that eliminated blind spots. Not a moonshot, but it was a meaningful improvement that keeps people safe.
3. Celebrate failure as fuel.
This is where it gets hard, because if innovation isn’t allowed to fail, it won’t breathe. Your culture must accept smart failure, even encourage it. Try, learn, adjust. Then repeat.
Turner, Skanska, Suffolk — they’re all running pilot programs where success isn’t guaranteed. But they learn fast. They share what works. And they ditch what doesn’t without pointing fingers.
4. Don’t confuse new tech with real innovation.
Buying the latest software isn’t innovation. Using that software to fundamentally change how you plan, communicate, or manage risk — that’s innovation.
Too often we put all our faith on a new tool to solve all our problems, but all they do is bring the same bad habits into a new interface. Innovation is about changing behavior — not just technology.
At the end of the day, building a culture of innovation isn’t about flashy tech or moonshot ideas — it’s about empowering your people. If your teams feel trusted to think differently, supported when they try something new and celebrated when they make things better, innovation becomes second nature. People are the engine on innovation. Fuel them with purpose and possibility and they’ll drive all kinds of positive change.
Have the Courage to Innovate
Let’s stop treating innovation like a silver bullet or a slogan.
It’s not a tagline, it’s not a department and it sure as heck isn’t a shortcut.
It’s messy and uncomfortable. It asks people to try things that might not work and to learn quick when they don’t. But when it’s done right, it doesn’t just change your company, it changes your people.
Because the truth is, your tech stack won’t drive innovation. Your people will.
You really want a culture of innovation? Start by empowering the ones wearing the boots, swinging the hammers, managing the chaos and solving problems in real time. Trust them. Invest in them. And give them permission to rethink what “we’ve always done.”
That’s where the breakthroughs happen.
So yeah, “innovation” might be a fancy buzzword. But in the right hands, it’s still one powerful tool.
Let’s put it to work.
Construction is cool, tell your friends!