I see innovation as a daily necessity. Those who are not innovative and creative are more likely to feel/be stagnant in life and to be less likely to enjoy what they do most of the time that they are awake...working. I see and hear about many people who only follow instructions/orders and do not think for themselves. It's like they learned early in life that they and their ideas are not important, that thinking is a bad thing, or that mistakes.
Some background information on creativity and flow (which can be used as a point to encourage creativity):
A leader in creativity that I have studied is Cs�kszentmih�lyi. He talks about creativity and flow. Here is a link to a wikipedia elaboration on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology). According to wikipedia, "(f)low is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity."
A good example that the wikipedia link gives is when software developers get into the "zone". It seems like this zone that is mentioned may be an essential part of not only more work enjoyment but also creativity.
The possibilities of rising to the challenge:
The possibilities of encouraging innovation and creativity could be endless, but one thing that it may undo is the recession. If citizens are encouraged to be creative and given the tools, space, time to be creative, then possibly more solutions (and less need for micromanaging) would be available for everyone.
