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Many people think that innovation comes from a divine idea in the middle of the night, light a stroke of lightning … something completely new … something never heard of … something only a genius could come up with. But this is not how things seem to be. We are surrounded by modern marvels that were unthinkable 30 years ago and most importantly, they all followed the same pattern:

Merge two (or more) existing solutions into a NEW one

  • Ford: Carriage + Engine = Model T
  • Harley Davidson: Bicycle + Engine = Motorcycle
  • Apple: MP3 Player + Big Screen = iPod
  • Apple: iPod + Phone = iPhone
  • Apple: iPhone + iTunes = AppStore
  • Meta: Facebook + Twitter + Smartphone Camera = Instagram
  • Uber: Taxi + Smartphone + Google Maps = Rideshare
  • ChatGPT: Internet + Machine/Deep learning = AI
  • McDonald: Cheeseburger + Assembly Line = Fast Food

Each of these inventions had a significant influence on our society and all of them combined pre-existing solutions to create new products.

How to be innovative

Be Practical

Action is the real measure of intelligence.

Waiting for “Innovation” won’t solve the problem, instead, plan some time for experiments. Surround yourself with people from neighbouring industries. Listen to experts and if you are a manager hire people who have done similar work but in other Industries – you would be surprised how much you can learn from them.

Start

Stop Dreaming – Start Doing

Instead of waiting and hoping that one day magic happens start working on something … anything … whatever you like. At this stage, it does not matter if it will be making money, be successful or if it will change the world. The goal is to start and to gain traction.

Involve others

Be the Guide for your Users

Invite others, to be part of your journey. Share your progress and encourage them to share their feedback with you. Learn and respect their input because, at the end of the day, you are building a product for them.

Do not build the whole solution at once.

POC and MVP are your friends

Do NOT develop and polish a solution for years but reach out to users as soon as possible. “Early Adopters”, “Trusted Clients”, “Trials”, “Dedicated Testers”, “Mock-ups”, “Previews” … whatever fits into your industry - share your work and gather feedback. It’s much easier and significantly cheaper to redirect or replace an early MVP than three years of development.

Stay on track

The Gras is always greener on the other side

Stay loyal to your core and focus on your industry, your research, and the needs of your market. If you see a completely new opportunity that does not align with your core objectives be extremely careful in pursuing it.

Learn from others

Learn from the mistakes of Others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.

There are great Tools, Methodologies and Frameworks that can help you ask the right questions and sharpen your focus on what matters. Use them wisely to narrow down, highlight or discover the topics that matter most and are ready for change.

  • SWOT Analysis
  • User Interviews and User Feedback
  • Design Thinking
  • LEAN Canvas
  • Even Objectives and KPIs

Have Fun

Be crazy enough to know you can do anything in life

Trying to enforce innovation is a waste of time. Instead, try to think and imagine the “Opposite” or “Extreme” of the current Norm.

  • What if the one huge thing could be tiny? Data Centre vs. Smart Phone
  • What if the computer recommends what to do instead of me writing commands? = Intuitive UX
  • What if Energy could last forever? = Solar + Kinetic movement
  • For what tasks do you still need a Pen and Paper? Or Excel?
  • Could any of the daily, weekly, or monthly repetitious tasks that you/others do be automated?
  • And of course what was predicted by the modern society gurus: Simpsons, Star Trek, and Hollywood :)