Update : Bruce Nussbaum (of BusinessWeek) commented that it’s hard to find humour in the field of innovation. I agree. That’s the motivation behind this post. Enjoy…

Over the last few months it’s become apparent that innovation is finding it’s way into all sorts of odd nooks and business crannies. However there’s very few people who actually know what it is and how to effectively do it.

And that’s why it seems remarkably similar to tantric sex, at least to an ‘outsider’ like me.

Here’s ten reasons why innovation is like tantric sex :

1. You can read lots about it, but there’s no substitute for doing it.

2. Lots of people talk about it, but few people know actually know how it works.

3. You can attend conferences about innovation, but when you leave your innovation methods/culture won’t change a whole lot.

4. People can make a lot of noise about innovation, but things stay the same.

5. The people on the top generally make the least amount of effort. It’s the people underneath who really want it to work.

6. With innovation efforts, there’s usually a whole lot of noise over a long period of time before anything happens. If it happens at all.

7. There’s nothing quick and easy about innovation. It takes a while to get good results.

8. Innovation is a bit mystical.

9. It makes for interesting conversations at dinner parties : “Innovation, oh yes – we’re the most innovative company in clerical administration. Why, just the other day we decided to use yellow paper for duplicates instead of white…”

10. There’s lots of trial and error.