Innovation Matters

"Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship... the act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth."- Peter drucker

According to Wikipedia, "Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, services, technologies, or ideas that are readily available to markets, governments, and society. Innovation differs from invention in that innovation refers to the use of better and, as a result, novel idea or method, whereas invention refers more directly to the creation of the idea or method itself. Innovation differs from improvement in that innovation refers to the notion of doing something different (Lat. innovare: "to change") rather than doing the same thing better."

If I was to ask you to name the top five companies in the world, I would not be surprised to hear you mention Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc. What do these companies have in common? "Innovation"! With business complexities, monopoly of knowledge quickly disappearing, increasing and customers demand for better and cheaper products not diminishing, it is becoming apparent that businesses that will thrive in today's world have to be innovative on a daily basis. Innovation is no longer a buzz word, but has become necessary in order to survive fierce competition and continue to add value to customers. According to Gary Hamel "What limits innovation in established companies isnèt a lack of resources or a shortage of human creativity, but a dearth of innovation processes".

"Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have... It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it." -Steve Jobs

According to the authors of the Innovators DNA, the five skills of disruptive innovators are questioning, observing, networking, experimenting and associational thinking (drawing connections among unrelated fields). The late Steve Jobs is a prime example of a disruptive innovator. His innovative move with the Ipod led not only to Apple becoming a major player in the music industry, but began a chain of events that would lead to the downward spiral of the Blackberry.

As companies downsize and jobs become harder to come by, the innovative responsibility has now become a shared one. Employees can no longer afford to put all the blame on the companies they work in for lack of innovation. Employees must now begin to take the initiative to innovate- looking for opportunities to improve their processes and, themselves. Some companies do encourage innovation while it is not impossible to come across organizations that discourage innovation.

"We ought not be over anxious to encourage innovation, in case of doubtful improvement, for an old system must ever have two advantages over a new one; it is established and it is understood."- C.C. Colton

Can Innovation be learnt? What is the innovation process? How can I build a culture of innovation in my company? These are some of the questions I hope to answer over the next few days.

You Are Unique!