Innovation often fails for reasons that have little to do with idea quality.
The original Star Search talent competition set out to discover the next generation of stars. Instead, it passed on performers who later defined entire categories, including Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Dave Chappelle, Christina Aguilera, and Aaliyah.
The problem wasn’t poor judgment. It was structural.
Where Expertise Breaks Down
The judges on Star Search were qualified experts. They evaluated performers using the standards available to them at the time.
What they struggled to recognize were outliers, early signals of ideas that didn’t yet fit established categories. Expertise excels at identifying patterns. It is far less effective at identifying what will redefine them.
This same limitation shows up inside organizations.
Why the Netflix Reboot Matters
The Netflix reboot of Star Search introduces a simple but meaningful change: audience voting alongside expert judges.
Expert evaluation still matters. What’s different is when broader input enters the process.
By adding visibility before final decisions, the show increases the chances that unconventional talent can advance. It doesn’t eliminate gatekeepers, it balances them.
The Organizational Parallel
Many innovation programs follow a familiar, linear path:
Idea submission → Manager review → Committee evaluation → Executive decision
Each step reduces risk and enforces alignment. Over time, however, ideas are reshaped to fit what already exists. What began as a breakthrough becomes incremental.
The process works as designed. It minimizes variance. It also filters out the unfamiliar.
The Structural Insight
The key lesson from the reboot is simple: visibility before filtering changes outcomes.
When ideas are visible early:
- Original intent is preserved
- Unconventional framing survives longer
- Champions can emerge across levels and functions
Breakthrough ideas rarely need consensus. They need one informed advocate who recognizes their potential before they are normalized away.
Designing for Discovery
The most effective innovation programs do not remove expert review. They design systems that allow ideas to be seen broadly before they are narrowed.
This creates room for discovery, pattern recognition, and advocacy that formal evaluation structures often miss. Serendipitous exposure, the right person encountering the right idea at the right moment, remains one of the most powerful forces in innovation.
The Question to Ask
Your next breakthrough is unlikely to come from the most senior voice in the room. It is more likely to come from someone closer to the problem who sees something others cannot yet categorize.
The question is not whether your organization has experts.
It is whether your system allows new ideas to reach them before they are filtered into safety.
Netflix gave the audience a seat at the table.
Does your innovation process do the same?
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