The Changing Meaning of Innovation
By Cheryl Perkins, Founder and President, Innovationedge
October 6, 2008 - When you think of innovation, do images of light bulbs pop into your head? But, that light bulb might not be the best marketing icon to promote forward-thinking companies considering that the light bulb that Americans have been using for 125-plus years will soon become obsolete; a relic of history.
The new energy bill passed earlier this year phases out traditional light bulbs over the next decade in favor of a new generation of energy-efficient compact fluorescents, LEDs, halogens and even light-emitting diodes. So, if the old standard light bulb no longer conveys "innovation," what image can we use in its place? And what do we mean by innovation anyway?
"Innovation" is one of those mystifying words often brandished by executives as a weapon to prod their teams into producing the next bright idea. It's gotten to the point where many leaders don't have a clue about what innovation is or how to be innovative.
If you're a corporation, innovation is about creating and delivering new and more effective products and services to your customers or consumers both better and sooner than your competitors. It makes you more cost-effective and resilient.
The driver of innovation is discovery. A true innovation affects people by changing their habits, by filling their unmet needs and by creating new industries or categories. And above all, innovation creates value to society.
Innovation is not a one-time event -- or at least it shouldn't be. Continuous innovation allows leaders to adapt to constantly-changing conditions and trends, whether those are positive or negative. Only after discovering these new insights are they able to design and deliver solutions that make our lives better.
Forward-thinking companies are doing that now. Consumer goods manufacturers, like The Procter & Gamble Company, Kimberly-Clark Corporation and others, are particularly good at gathering insights from their shoppers and users to learn not only about habits but desires, wants and needs.
Some of these trends will continue and evolve in 2008 and into 2009: The ongoing movement of manufacturing jobs offshore, rising health care and fuel costs, wireless communications, online social networking, the credit crunch, the depressed housing market and the aging baby boomer population are just a few of the trends that will impact our lives and our spending habits.
Leveraging these insights and trends can't be successful without help from the outside. Open innovation is proving that the brightest ideas don't necessarily come from inside the four walls of corporate offices or even necessarily from within the borders of our homeland. Innovative leaders should seek out collaborative partnerships not only with other companies, but also with universities, laboratories, consultants and manufacturers that have unique capabilities that they themselves don't.
Click here to read this article in its entirety.
October 6, 2008 - When you think of innovation, do images of light bulbs pop into your head? But, that light bulb might not be the best marketing icon to promote forward-thinking companies considering that the light bulb that Americans have been using for 125-plus years will soon become obsolete; a relic of history.
The new energy bill passed earlier this year phases out traditional light bulbs over the next decade in favor of a new generation of energy-efficient compact fluorescents, LEDs, halogens and even light-emitting diodes. So, if the old standard light bulb no longer conveys "innovation," what image can we use in its place? And what do we mean by innovation anyway?
"Innovation" is one of those mystifying words often brandished by executives as a weapon to prod their teams into producing the next bright idea. It's gotten to the point where many leaders don't have a clue about what innovation is or how to be innovative.
If you're a corporation, innovation is about creating and delivering new and more effective products and services to your customers or consumers both better and sooner than your competitors. It makes you more cost-effective and resilient.
The driver of innovation is discovery. A true innovation affects people by changing their habits, by filling their unmet needs and by creating new industries or categories. And above all, innovation creates value to society.
Innovation is not a one-time event -- or at least it shouldn't be. Continuous innovation allows leaders to adapt to constantly-changing conditions and trends, whether those are positive or negative. Only after discovering these new insights are they able to design and deliver solutions that make our lives better.
Forward-thinking companies are doing that now. Consumer goods manufacturers, like The Procter & Gamble Company, Kimberly-Clark Corporation and others, are particularly good at gathering insights from their shoppers and users to learn not only about habits but desires, wants and needs.
Some of these trends will continue and evolve in 2008 and into 2009: The ongoing movement of manufacturing jobs offshore, rising health care and fuel costs, wireless communications, online social networking, the credit crunch, the depressed housing market and the aging baby boomer population are just a few of the trends that will impact our lives and our spending habits.
Leveraging these insights and trends can't be successful without help from the outside. Open innovation is proving that the brightest ideas don't necessarily come from inside the four walls of corporate offices or even necessarily from within the borders of our homeland. Innovative leaders should seek out collaborative partnerships not only with other companies, but also with universities, laboratories, consultants and manufacturers that have unique capabilities that they themselves don't.
Click here to read this article in its entirety.