Intrinsic motivation does indeed motivate people and drive creative success. But in business creative success is only part of the equation. In business we also need to make money. A quick look at the history of inventors and other creative people will confirm that, while creativity and invention may be necessary components of innovation, they are not sufficient if you want to achieve both innovation and business results.

The great innovators in business did not succeed on creativity alone; their success was a blend of creative thinking and business logic. There was no lack of creativity and invention in Xerox PARC, but Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were able to translate that creativity into a tangible product that people were willing to pay for. The great innovators in business – Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Walt Disney, Sam Walton, Ted Turner and so on – blended creativity with business sense and a deep understanding of customers and market dynamics.