Look around the popular business press lately and you’ll find a heightened interest in innovation. There have been many, many voices adding to that of James M. Kilts, former chairman and CEO of Gillette, who said: “Innovation is critical to growth in a competitive environment. Without innovation, you stall, your competitors take over, and you die.”

Such articles abound. They encourage companies to engage in creative thinking methods designed to spur ideation, to glean fresh ideas from social networks, and to incorporate innovative personality traits when building teams to generate new ideas.

I’ll add my voice as well, because innovation is absolutely critical in today’s business environment.