Innovation

What is the meaning of ‘Innovation’ to you?

Depending on who you ask, you are likely to get a different answer. Here are a few responses that you might expect:

• Doing something new
• Generating crazy ideas
• Move fast and break things
• Doing something that nobody else is doing
• Disrupting industries with new ways
• Doing traditional thing ‘cheaper, better and faster’

It could definitely mean many more things to a different organization but one thing for sure it is not a siloed team sitting in four walls of the corporate buildings. If you really expect out of your ‘innovation’ investment make sure your ‘innovation’ team speaks to your end-user/consumer. Incumbents who are doing investment without any strategic direction are soon going to get toppled by new entrants.

It also reminds me of a quote from my recent read ” Skin in the game”

Two people can be using the same word, meaning different things, yet continue the conversation, which is fine for coffee conversation but not when making decisions especially which affect other people.