Innovation isn’t a hackathon: Why real innovation needs real commitment

Innovation has become one of the most overused and misunderstood words in business. Everyone wants it. Many claim to be doing it. But few are truly set up to do it right.

Take hackathons, for example. They’ve become a go-to symbol of innovation: energetic, fast-paced, and full of ideas. But what happens after the energy fades?

Most companies rely on these bursts of creativity, hoping they'll trigger something big. But without the right structure in place, those sparks rarely turn into anything lasting.

From spark to standstill

Hackathons, workshops, and whiteboard sessions all create energy. But energy alone doesn’t build anything lasting. 

The real challenge begins once the brainstorming ends. And that's when things often stall: no one takes ownership, next steps stay vague, and momentum quietly disappears.

As Youri, data innovation expert on our team, puts it: “It usually stays with, ‘Let’s take a Friday and do a hackathon... and then we all have nice projects. But nothing ever comes of it.’”

The enthusiasm is real. The ideas are promising. But without structure, the ideas fade, and people move on.

The real cost of innovation without structure

Over time, this lack of follow-through turns into something bigger: a culture wherein innovation can’t gain traction.

When innovation isn’t built into the way a company operates, these issues ripple through the organization’s data landscape.

• A proof of concept with no scaling plan
• A data platform built with no clear use cases
• Dashboards no one uses, despite months of development
• A team full of potential, but no time, space, or strategy to innovate meaningfully.

These aren’t just missed opportunities. They’re business risks. Because innovation that doesn’t land with the business, or its users, is money lost, not value created.

You see this across many organizations: "That’s why companies struggle with driving value from the money they spend on innovation or IT. The usage just isn’t there.”

What high-performing companies do differently

There’s a reason some organizations get a real return on innovation, and others don’t.

Youri: “It’s not that they have better ideas. It’s that they build the right environment to turn ideas into action. High-performing companies understand how to organize for ROI.”

They don’t treat innovation as a side project. They embed it in the way the business operates, with the same seriousness as any strategic priority.

What a committed, innovation-ready environment actually looks like:

• Clear goals and long-term vision
• Budget and leadership commitment
• Methods that move from insight to action
• People empowered to own, test, and evolve solutions

This foundation makes all the difference, helping strong ideas move beyond the whiteboard and into the business.

How to move from good ideas to real outcomes

Once the foundation is there, the next challenge is execution. How do you make innovation stick, not just once but over time?

Youri:“ You can build a perfect solution, but if the users weren’t involved, it won’t get used.”

That’s why high-performing teams build habits that make innovation repeatable:

• Scoping the real problem, not just reacting to requests
• Involving the people who will use and sustain the tools
• Testing early to validate assumptions and avoid waste
• Applying methods like design thinking to shape the right solution
• Creating structure, not just speed

Innovation only works when it's supported by process, structure, and a team mindset that focuses on outcomes. That means building a system where innovation becomes part of daily operations and where ideas actually come to life in the business.

A final thought

So, before you plan your next hackathon, ask yourself: Are we doing this for energy or for impact?

There’s nothing wrong with creativity and experimentation. But if you’re serious about innovation, it has to move beyond a Friday afternoon. Innovation needs commitment and structure, along with a team ready to do the real work: turning promising ideas into meaningful outcomes.