What are the biggest obstacles to innovation? Ask these small business owners and entrepreneurs.

1. !
The
Biggest Threats
to Innovation
in America

2. THREAT #1
Anti-Business Attitudes
In my lifetime, I have never seen such an antibusiness attitude from our federal government, which
inevitably equates to more burdensome regulations,
taxes, and fees. Entrepreneurs have to be risk takers,
and if there is no reward for taking a risk, American
innovation will suffer. So will the prospects for jobs and
growth in our own economy.
Harold Turner
The H.L. Turner Group Inc.
Concord, NH

3. THREAT #2
Intellectual Property Protection
Intellectual property protection is the lifeblood of any
enterprise that creates value from ideas. In the biopharmaceutical
industry, protecting our discoveries allows us to turn scientific
research into innovative medicines, thereby saving lives and
helping patients who suffer from disease. When a country’s
intellectual property protections are weakened, the cost and risk of
innovation go up, and new treatments can be derailed.
John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D.
Chairman, President, and CEO,
Eli Lilly and Company

4. THREAT #3
Anxiety
The biggest threat to innovation is anxiety. Capital is there,
but there seems to be a gap between product development and
product adoption. It’s also about leadership and people. Without
the proper leadership, there won’t be the big C—culture. A
defined organizational culture reduces the propensity of poor
hiring practices, lack of team effectiveness, miscommunications,
and even anxiety over federal regulations.
Ronnie Slone
President, The Slone Group
Metairie, LA

5. THREAT #4
Overregulation
I think the biggest obstacles stunting innovative
growth are all government induced: the delay in the
approval of the Keystone pipeline, the slow growth of
the American economy due to Obamacare and other
demotivating government influences, as well as the higher
level of regulations on fracking and deepwater drilling.
Don Begneaud
BEGNEAUD Manufacturing
Lafayette, LA

6. THREAT #5
The Lack of Experimentation
We have lost our culture of experimentation. In K-12
education, students are rewarded for test performance rather
than for original thought, doctoral STEM students are advised to
do derivative research to earn their degrees, and most grants are
given to those doing incremental work on accepted theories.
There is no incentive to challenge the status quo, break new
ground, or experiment with a totally new idea.
Benjamin Clarke
PeopleToMySite & InsideAgents
Gahanna, OH

7. THREAT #6
The Lack of Talented People
The biggest threat to innovation in
America is the ongoing loss of talented
professionals to other countries and the
lack of policies and incentives that entice
new intellects and creative entrepreneurs to
come to America.
Rudaina Hamade
RPM Solutions, LLC
Dearborn, MI

8. THREAT #7 Onerous Immigration Hurdles
The success of this nation has
been in attracting people from around the
world who are talented, resilient, and driven.
If we close the doors to immigration, we’ll be
closing the door to future innovation.
Shradha Agarwal
ContextMedia
Chicago, IL

9. THREAT #8
Our Current Education System
The single biggest threat to innovation in
America is our current education system. On
average, American youths score lower on science
and math than their global peers.
Shama Kabani
Marketing Zen Group
Dallas, TX

10. What’s threatening your innovation?
Let us know!
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