Innovation doesn’t necessarily require more money, more people, or more resources. Sometimes it just requires companies to stop getting in their own way.
That was the message from Duncan Wardle, former head of innovation and creativity at Disney, during his Wednesday morning keynote at CEDIA Expo 2026, “Embed Innovation into Everyone’s DNA.” Wardle spent 30 years at Disney, working with Disney Parks, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Imagineering.
Wardle challenged the familiar corporate response to new ideas: “We don’t have the resources.” As an example, he described a pro bono project in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum, where he was tasked with finding a way to provide light to homes without electricity and without a budget. The solution came from experimenting with a plastic water bottle, sunlight, water, and chlorine. Eventually, the approach was used to provide daylight illumination to roughly 1 million huts.
The lesson, he said, was curiosity.
Children, he argued, are among the most creative people because they constantly ask questions, experiment, play, and use their imaginations. Adults, meanwhile, become increasingly constrained by experience and expertise.
“The more expertise we have, the more experience we have, the more reasons we know why the new idea won’t work,” he said. “Don’t let the words ‘no, because’ be the first two words out of your mouth.”
Wardle also encouraged integrators to make room for play at the right moments. When asked to identify places where they typically get their best ideas, attendees replied with locations such as the shower, gym, car, and bed. Almost nobody said they get them at work.
According to Wardle, constant meetings, deadlines, and administrative tasks can prevent employees from accessing the relaxed state of mind where unexpected connections occur.
For custom integrators facing rapidly changing technology, AI, and consumer expectations, Wardle’s message was that creativity shouldn’t be treated as the responsibility of a select group. Instead, companies need to make innovation accessible to everyone.
