This is an answer to a LinkedIn Question by Jennifer Haertling at Kraft Foods. Interesting that so far the most commonly mentioned things are something along creative, ideas, inspiring, motivation, out-of-the-box. It seems to me that all of these ideas are more attributes of inventors, and not innovators, and are merely good, but not great. [...]
This is an answer to a LinkedIn Question by Jennifer Haertling at Kraft Foods.
Interesting that so far the most commonly mentioned things are something along creative, ideas, inspiring, motivation, out-of-the-box. It seems to me that all of these ideas are more attributes of inventors, and not innovators, and are merely good, but not great.
I would describe myself as a creative out-of-the-box thinker with lots of ideas, but I’m not an innovator. Here’s why: “Innovators” for me have an “outside” proof that they can productize (or servicize, if that word exists) a concept that addresses a need of a market. You might have noticed that the word “new” is missing. I get to that later.
Sometimes the difference between an idiot and an innovator is success.
So maybe I’m an innovator, because I was able to commercialize some of my ideas and successfully sell my startup companies (which was rarely risky, btw). Now for the great: someone who can repeat that and maybe understands/feels what it takes to repeat things. Maybe process, maybe method, maybe tools, maybe something he/she cannot exactly point to. But they can repeat it, if they need to.
(and here I reached my limit of 4000 characters at LinkedIn)
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Introducing new ideas, to be creative and new in thinking.
That is, something new to address need, or some new way of doing better (easier, cheaper to open to mass market) something that existed already.
Example of 1: First cell phone
Example of 2: Ford model T, iPod.
Competency: irrelevant. Any competency will do, as long as there is one.
Ciao
Clark
Update: McKinsey published an excellent video interview with Judy Estrin who talks about the three horizons of innovation: http://bit.ly/R9DV
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Interesting to know.