In good times and in bad, companies often struggle with whether or not to invest in innovation. In a recent Accenture survey, only 18 percent of chief executives at 519 companies across more than 12 industry sectors in France, Britain and the United States said their investments in innovation were giving them a competitive advantage. Forty-six percent said their companies had become more risk averse when considering new ideas. And CEOs are supposed to be the optimistic ones.