Most people ask: “Why do universities produce so little innovation per dollar spent?” or “Why don’t university labs focus on real-world innovation?” The problem is that we keep using metrics that don’t capture what’s actually happening.

Universities are playing a very different game than companies. They don’t just chase performance. They teach. They serve public missions. They take on harder problems—ones others walk away from. And most of their innovation efforts? They aren’t failures. They’re options—investments in ideas we can’t yet predict.

So when you hear someone say “university patents don’t make money” or “companies do it better,” they’re forgetting the whole point: we’re terrible at predicting success. In fact, most business leaders fail at this too—they just get to pick from projects that already look successful.

If we want real innovation, we need to stop asking why universities aren’t more efficient. The real question is: how do we make life good enough for the people who can see around corners—so they actually want to show up and build?