I spoke to 15 of the world’s leading innovation experts to get their definition of “innovation”. The variety in their responses may surprise you.
Content
- Introduction
- Nick Skillicorn
- David Burkus
- Stephen Shapiro
- Pete Foley
- Gijs van Wulfen
- Kevin McFarthing
- Robert Brands
- Paul Hobcraft
- Mike Shipulski
- Paul Sloane
- Jeffrey Baumgartner
- Stefan Lindegaard
- Drew Boyd
- Michael Graber
- Jorge Barba
- Analysis of all the definitions
- The ultimate definition of innovation
Introduction
Innovation is truly a confusing buzzword which many people love to hate.
Every business leader agrees that it is important. But nobody can quite seem to agree on what it actually is or what it means.
If you ask Google for an innovation definition, it is less than helpful, coming up with over 300 million results with thousands of definitions. Its own definition is pretty much useless: “the action or process of innovating”. Using the traditional sources for a definition such as the Oxford dictionary also doesn’t help much, with their answer being “Make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products”
So I contacted a selection of my fellow innovation experts to see how they talk about innovation with their clients, and compiled the results for you here. I asked them all:
- What is your definition of “innovation”?
- What mistake do companies often make when they talk about innovation?
- What simple thing can a company do to change their conversation / perspective about innovation?
The results surprised me. Even amongst the group of industry insiders here who teach and author books on innovation methodologies, case studies and thought leadership, there was a huge variety between the responses. So in the last section of this article, I’ve analysed what everyone said to find the most common themes, to try and see if it is possible to use the common threads to determine the most effective definition you can use.
Let’s get started.
What is your definition of “innovation”: Turning an idea into a solution that adds value from a customer’s perspective What mistake do companies often make when they talk about it?: They talk about it being a company value without actually putting the required level of support behind it to make it happen. Coming up with ideas is relatively easy, fast and cheap, but then those ideas need to be executed. This is where companies often fail, by not providing the required level of time and budget to take a rough idea, refine it, experiment on it and finally turn it into a real solution. Additionally, companies usually think of it just from an internal viewpoint, such as whether they think the offering is being improved when it is updated. In reality, if the customer doesn’t perceive the changes as having value, then they won’t be compelled to purchase it. So it is all about the customer’s perceived value. What simple thing can a company do to change their conversation / perspective about it?: Flip it on its head, and look at every new thing you are trying for various customers’ perspectives. Nick is the chief editor of Idea to Value and also the CEO & Founder of Improvides Innovation Consulting. He was voted one of the world’s top innovation bloggers for 2014 and is a leader in thought leadership on the science of improving creativity. Follow his two twitter accounts here: Follow @Improvides What is your definition of “innovation”: The application of ideas that are novel and useful. Creativity, the ability to generate novel and useful ideas, is the seed of innovation but unless it’s applied and scaled it’s still just an idea. What mistake do companies often make when they talk about innovation?: The think about products or technology. Innovation is bigger than a product or a technological platform. And in truth, it’s the innovations to organizations and management that precede product or technology innovation anyway. Great leaders don’t innovate the product; they innovate the factory. What simple thing can a company do to change their conversation / perspective about innovation?: Change the conversation? For starters, let’s have the conversation. Conversation meaning a two-way dialogue. Telling employees that “we need more great ideas” almost never works…yet it’s almost always what is done. Instead, let’s open up a dialogue with everyone in the organization about how we can get better at finding, testing, and implementing the great ideas that people are already having. David Burkus is a best-selling author, award-winning podcaster, and associate professor of management at Oral Roberts University. His new book “Under New Management” is out now. Twitter: @davidburkus What is your definition of “innovation”? Very simply put, innovation is about staying relevant. We are in a time of unprecedented change. As a result, what may have helped an organization be successful in the past could potentially be the cause of their failure in the future. Companies need to adapt and evolve to meet the ever changing needs of their constituents. What mistake do companies often make when they talk about it? The biggest mistake companies make is asking others for ideas. When asking for ideas, we invite a lot of noise and unnecessary work. Every person inside and outside of your organization has an opinion, suggestion, or idea about how to improve things. The reality is that most of these ideas won’t be effective in producing positive results. Organizations that spent too much time on idea collection, implode from the weight of all of the ideas. What simple thing can a company do to change their conversation / perspective about it? For the most effective results, focus on the question, not the solution/idea. I have done a number of studies that show that when you ask people to think outside the box, you reduce the quality of your solutions. By asking more abstract questions, you increase the noise, lower the value, and reduce the relevancy of solutions. The issue isn’t that you need to expand the box. Quite often you are simply looking in the wrong box! Framing the challenges correctly is a critical key to innovation. For example, bicycle safety advocates have been pushing for mandatory helmet laws. But the real goal is to improve safety. And numerous studies show that safety is greatly improved when there are a large number of cyclists on the road. Ironically, helmet laws have been shown to reduce the number of riders. Solving the problem of getting helmet law compliance is not the same as increasing riders. Stephen Shapiro is an Innovation Instigator, Hall of Fame Speaker and Author. His books include Best Practices Are Stupid and Personality Poker. Twitter: @stephenshapiro What is your definition of “innovation”? I define the innovation process as a great idea, executed brilliantly, and communicated in a way that is both intuitive and fully celebrates the magic of the initial concept. We need all of these parts to succeed. Innovative ideas can be big or small, but breakthrough or disruptive innovation is something that either creates a new category, or changes an existing one dramatically, and obsoletes the existing market leader. We can obsolete ourselves or someone else, and it can be ‘sexy’, or address a basic human need – both the iPad and disposable diapers qualify for me. But it needs to either create a new market, or radically change an existing one. What mistake do companies often make when they talk about innovation? We need to stop calling everything breakthrough or disruptive, especially in internal company discussions. It is more than OK to have a balanced pipeline of big and small ideas, and we need to get comfortable with that again. If we demand nothing but disruption or breakthrough, (delivered tomorrow and on small budgets) then that is all people want to work on, and to accommodate this, everything gets labeled in those terms. But language matters, and once we start calling good but smaller ideas breakthrough, we lower the bar. This is a recipe for mediocrity, and is one of the reasons why so many companies struggle with too many small initiatives and not enough big ones. What simple thing can a company do to change their conversation / perspective about innovation? Make a long-term investment in innovation culture. Strategy is important, but it is culture that drives most of the smaller, often largely unconscious decisions that permeate an innovation organization. Big ideas take time, productive failure, communication, and collaboration. These are enabled by a culture that protects, and to some degree nurtures big ideas, and innovative, fearless people. I’m not sure if this qualifies as simple, but I think it is essential, and often overlooked. Pete Foley is a Consultant, Innovator, Artist, Scientist, Photographer, Musician, Accountant and Blogger, with 25 years experience of Innovation and Behavioral Science in the Fortune 50. Twitter: @foley_pete What is your definition of “innovation”? An innovation is a feasible relevant offering such as a product, service, process or experience with a viable business model that is perceived as new and is adopted by customers. What mistake do companies often make when they talk about it? Companies lack focus in their discussions on innovation. Often there’s a senior manager experiencing an urgent need for something new, fueled by a business challenge. A new competitor may have entered the market; revenues may have decreased dramatically or a big contract has been lost. One essential point is often missed at the start: innovation ideas for what? That’s the question! When you focus your innovation efforts, you’re much more productive. You should start innovation choosing a clear focus. What simple thing can a company do to change their conversation / perspective about it? Don’t accept the status quo. Innovation means coming up with something really new: a big idea. When you fully accept the status quo at work or in your personal life nothing will change. There’s a wonderful quote by George Bernard Shaw: The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. Innovation often starts with something that annoys you personally and is relevant for you. Something you personally really want to change, because you need to. It’s the WHY for innovation. Gijs van Wulfen is a Linkedin influencer and the author of the FORTH Innovation Methodology. Twitter: @gijsvanwulfen What is your definition of “innovation”? the introduction of new products and services that add value to the organisation. What mistake do companies often make when they talk about innovation? Companies often confuse invention and innovation; they’re different things. What simple thing can a company do to change their conversation / perspective about innovation? Companies should really listen more to their consumers and customers. Kevin McFarthing was voted #1 blogger on innovation in 2015 by Innovation Excellence. He is an expert in Innovation Management, Open Innovation and R&D. Twitter: @InnovationFixer What is your definition of “innovation”? Not an easy answer: Innovation needs to be defined and agreed upon in each organization, making sure it is strategically and everybody is aligned. Without it, misalignment results in less than optimal focus and results. As long as it includes “new” and it addresses customer needs and wants, any variation goes. What mistake do companies often make when they talk about it? Innovation is not just Idea generation. It should encompass all Ten Imperatives to Create and Sustain Innovation, from Inspiration to Results; a structured repeatable process needing continued reinforcement and continuous improvement. What simple thing can a company do to change their conversation / perspective about it? Since it is “Innovative or Perish”, the ideal thing an organization can do is set a clear and simple goal, like “At least one new product per year” that can be adopted and understood at all levels. However, make absolutely sure objectives and rewards are aligned. Robert Brands is known at the Innovation Coach®, is a serial entrepreneur and innovation practitioner, workshop facilitator, author and speaker. Twitter: @innovationrules What is your definition of “innovation”? the fundamental way the company brings constant value to their customers business or life and consequently their shareholders and stakeholders. What mistake do companies often make when they talk about innovation? They confuse it with invention, they use it to define anything new, they forget it has to contribute new value and be valued by others as better than what they have known. What simple thing can a company do to change their conversation / perspective about innovation? Placing innovation into the core of the organization’s thinking changes the conversations, it alters the time horizons, it shifts the whole dynamics of where to go to grow and sustain the organization for the future. Paul Hobcraft has been advising numerous organisations on innovation for over 15 years and is consistently considered one of the world’s top innovation bloggers. Twitter: @Paul4innovating What is your definition of “innovation”? work that delivers new goodness to new customers in new markets, and does it in a way that radically improves the profitability equation. What mistake do companies often make when they talk about it? Companies do creativity when they should do innovation. There can be no innovation without commercialization. What simple thing can a company do to change their conversation / perspective about it? Move from idea generation to product commercialization. Mike Shipulski is an innovation thought leader, focusing on defining best practices and tools for Product and Technology Development and embed them into company culture. Twitter: @MikeShipulski What is your definition of “innovation”? Creativity is thinking of something new. Innovation is the implementation of something new. What mistake do companies often make when they talk about innovation? Many companies make grand statements about their commitment to innovation but do not invest in the time, people or money to prototype innovative ideas. What simple thing can a company do to change their conversation / perspective about innovation? Commit the resources to a good staff ideas scheme with the target of implementing at least 5 ideas per employee per year. Paul Sloane is a Speaker, Facilitator and Author, specialising in entertaining talks & workshops on creativity, lateral thinking & innovation. Twitter: @PaulSloane What is your definition of “innovation”? the implementation of creative ideas in order to generate value, usually through increased revenues, reduced costs or both. What mistake do companies often make when they talk about it? They confuse creativity, especially idea collecting, with innovation. What simple thing can a company do to change their conversation / perspective about it? Put more women in top management. Research studies have shown it improves the success rate of innovation, and also the bottom line. Jeffrey Baumgartner is an author, keynote speaker and workshop facilitator specialising in creativity and innovation, and writer of the long-running industry newsletter Report 103. Twitter: @creativeJeffrey What is your definition of “innovation”? I try not to define “innovation” as we should tone down our use of the word and term. What mistake do companies often make when they talk about innovation? They talk too much about innovation. They should get back to basics. What simple thing can a company do to change their conversation / perspective about innovation? Stop talking about innovation. Focus on corporate transformation – in most cases, this should be driven by digitalization and disruption issues. Stefan Lindegaard is the Chief Transformer at Transform – or Die! Author, speaker and advisor focusing on corporate transformation based on digitalization, disruption and innovation. Twitter: @lindegaard What is your definition of “innovation”? anything that is new, useful, and surprising. That last criteria, surprising, tends to ‘surprise’ people because they usually don’t hear many people talk about it. For me, a great innovation are the simple ones that make you slap your forehead and say, “Gee, why didn’t I think of that?”. What mistake do companies often make when they talk about it? The biggest mistake companies make is not taking stock in how innovative they already are. I’ve worked with some of the most innovative companies in the world whose employees moan that they’re not innovative enough, or that they desperately want a “culture of innovation.” It’s crazy. So I tell companies they don’t have an innovation problem. They have an employee perception problem. My best guess is that employees get frustrated when they see their company kill a viable project in favor of other priorities. It wears them down. What simple thing can a company do to change their conversation / perspective about it? A simple thing companies can do to change the conversation about innovation is to train it. Set up formal courses teaching systematic methods of innovation like SIT and TRIZ. Teach people about idea management, idea selection, and pipeline development. In other words, see innovation as a competency like leadership or ethics. Drew Boyd is Co-author of Inside the Box: A Proven System of Creativity for Breakthrough Results. Innovation practitioner, professor, blogger, and speaker. Twitter: @DrewBoyd What is your definition of “innovation”? New, organic value creation by applying creativity, in-depth relationships with consumers and customers, and new thinking. What mistake do companies often make when they talk about innovation? Because innovation is a process, they bucket it as a value engineering process, rather than a value generation process. What simple thing can a company do to change their conversation / perspective about innovation? Live it. Host workshops. Bootcamps. Show executive support for innovation projects. Michael Graber is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Southern Growth Studio, and has a particular focus on innovation, to deliver high-impact go-to-market strategies and product launches. Twitter: @SouthernGrowth What mistake do companies often make when they talk about it? Mistakes are too many, one is punishing people for trying new stuff. Leaders that want to build an organization that innovates consistently must provide six things to employees: freedom, resources, diverse teams, support, encouragement and challenge. In other words, you can put it like this: Have bold goals, get out of the way and reward people for trying. What simple thing can a company do to change their conversation / perspective about it? Companies, just like people, get in their own way. So ask, how are we impeding people from doing the things necessary that drive innovation? Then stop doing that and start doing that does. Jorge Barba is an innovation insurgent and a partner at Blu Maya, an innovation consultancy helping ordinary companies become extraordinary. Twitter: @jorgebarba As you can see by all of the responses above, every expert has their own views on what innovation is and how companies can improve it. Some of them even rightly point out that it’s become a bit of a buzzword and perhaps we shouldn’t be looking for a singular definition as it will vary based on circumstance. But after going through all of the responses, it became clear that there are definitely some underlying themes that crop up again and again. Here is my analysis of the most-cited aspects of innovation according to this selection of thought leaders: Based on all of these factors combined, if we were to create the ultimate innovation definition, it would be: Executing an idea which addresses a specific challenge and achieves value for both the company and customer So there you have it. The ultimate innovation definition, put together based on the analysis of some of the world’s greatest innovation thought leaders. I hope you have found this article useful and insightful. We publish thought pieces about innovation and creativity frequently, and they’re all available for free along with numerous other benefits if you sign up for our free membership. You should do it now. And don’t forget to share the article too. Did you like the article? Which definition do you use in your company? Or do you disagree with any of the points made by the experts here? Let us know in the comments below (we read all comments)Want high resolution versions of these images for FREE?
Nick Skillicorn
Follow @ideatovalueDavid Burkus
Stephen Shapiro
Pete Foley
Gijs van Wulfen
Want high resolution versions of these images for FREE?
Kevin McFarthing
Robert Brands
Paul Hobcraft
Mike Shipulski
Paul Sloane
Want high resolution versions of these images for FREE?
Jeffrey Baumgartner
Stefan Lindegaard
Drew Boyd
Michael Graber
Jorge Barba
What is your definition of “innovation”? something new or different that delivers value to the world, with the key criteria that I’m not innovating if I’m not bettering people’s lives. Put simply, it is the future delivered.Analysis of the innovation definition
The ultimate definition of innovation
Want high resolution versions of these images for FREE?
Nick Skillicorn
Latest posts by Nick Skillicorn (see all)
My definition of innovation is: “a disobedience with a happy ending”
That’s one I definitely haven’t heard before
I definitely haven’t heard that one before. Sounds like something people would pay extra for 😉
Creativity realized. (By the way, this is a definition of innovation I heard some time ago. If you know who stated it originally, I’d love to know!) Thanks!
It’s not a bad one, although it does seem a bit closer related to invention than innovation in my view. I do like the underlying concept though.
innovation is the current force for meeting the need of the world in the foreseeable future.
Don’t know who said that, but I like it. Even though in my mind it’s more closely related to invention than innovation.
I’ve noticed an innovation often serves as a survey marker in time– a visible benchmark from which to measure other industry or societal changes.
You have a point. I think that’s because innovations which serve as these benchmarks are the ones which are accepted by the society, because people really see the value in it. These are the ones which last, rather than just being a flash in the pan.
Amazing that not one person even mentioned Schumpeter in passing, even though most of the definitions included two or three of the components of his definition from almost a hundred years ago.
Interesting point, thanks. I think an article that goes into this history of various academic theories would definitely touch on it, whereas this article was designed more as something quicker from numerous viewpoints.
There is no shortage of “quick and numerous” in the plethora of online innovation discussions. These definitions are interesting but I agree with Stefan that there is already too much talk about it, and often by “experts” who regurgitate generalizations. The hype, “bandwagon effect”, and uninformed noise about innovation distracts companies and may even stop them from investing in the real changes needed to stay relevant.
As if innovation is constrained to companies and customers. This is a very focused perception and is not addressing the nature of innovation. Maybe the term needs to be defined by linguists and not by busyness experts.
It is a growing concern that 0% of the thought leaders featured in this article addressed the environment as an aspect of innovation, despite half of the images directly relating to nature. Therefore to innovate ultimately has to be to consciously evolve in harmonious cooperation with our natural world.
I did however like Jeffrey Baumgartner’s recommendation to “put more women in top management” – well I’m ready if you are!!
It’s a fair point Hayley, and there are more and more examples every day where innovations are addressing the environment. Just recently I wrote an article about the EU encouraging companies to reduce food waste https://www.ideatovalue.com/news/nickskillicorn/2016/03/eu-making-supermarkets-give-unwanted-food-needy/
Thank you Nick. I think the biggest challenge is to find a lasting balance between the aspirations of people and the needs of our natural world.
My passion is to support people transition towards a more sustainable future with a focus on developing innovative ways of working to enable a more chosen, conscious and participatory future to emerge.
I would be interested to read your article but there seems to be an issue with the link.
Thanks for pointing that out, it seems the comment system added a closed bracket to the link which made it not work. I think I’ve fixed it now.
I appreciate the article is about the EU making supermarkets give unwanted food to the needy, and believe this disruption is a good start, but for any real transformation to take place within our current food system, change cannot happen in isolation.
What we really should be collectively striving towards is a holistic farm to fork approach which tackles the many interrelated social and ecological issues e.g. the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization confirmed that one third of food produced for human consumption (1.3 billion metric tons) is wasted each year. Jamie Oliver’s reclaiming wonky veg campaign is helping to reverse this trend in the UK. In addition the ‘ugly’ produce is offered at a lower cost making it more accessible to those living in food poverty.
Supermarkets have a role to play in transforming our food system i.e. to renew our connection between the source of our food, and the impact that is has on the environment when we throw it away. The question is will supermarkets take the lead and adapt to be more supportive of local, place-based culture and enterprises like Riverford Organic – a food box delivery scheme in the UK, Krom Kommer – a social enterprise in the Netherlands making soups from food waste, Original Unverpackt – a German concept store selling groceries without packaging… as well as support new agricultural systems based on biomimicry principles (creating conditions conducive to all life) to tackle food security?
The solutions exist – they just require a commitment as BIG as the challenge itself!
You may also be interested to read:
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/35449-globalized-monoculture-is-consuming-the-planet-an-interview-with-helena-norberg-hodge
‘Stuffed and Starved: From Farm to Fork the Hidden Battle for the World Food System’ by Raj Patel.
[…] What is innovation? 15 experts share their innovation definition Idea to Value […]
We have a triple approach to Innovation :
At the beginning, In 1939, we find Schumpeter, in his book named « BUSINESS CYCLES, A Theoretical, Historical and Statistical, Analysis of the Capitalist Process ». He gave a clear and accurate definition of innovation: « Therefore, we will simply define innovation as the setting up of a new production function. »
1 – We think we now can go a little further “Innovation is the development of a new social paradigm with a sustainably global efficiency above the previous paradigm(s)”. This is the economic nature of innovation.
2 – Behind this economic nature, there is a philosophical nature resulting of the economics of innovation: this increasing efficiency gave progressively to Mankind the capacity of control and command the living standards and the human condition, and hence, Mankind took the position and functions of gods.
3 – From a sociological point of view, the innovator (very often, the entrepreneur-innovator) is the last innovation designer. His function is to define or choose the technical standard, to define the business model and to sell first significant quantities, certifying the quality of his choices. This core function of the individual initiative as the engine of modern economies goes against any mechanistic or structural vision, from Colbert to Marx. These old visions drove us to centralize innovation and to develop big programs far from ground reality and the decisive power of individual action. We have to develop a more humanist and individualist vision of innovation: a innovator (a man) in his ecosystem … that is far from an innovation system.
If you keep in mind these three natures of innovation, everything is easier (but not necessarily easy)
P. Noailles / European Forum for Innovation Policies
[…] Bron: What is innovation? 15 experts share their innovation definition – Idea to Value […]
[…] to Value, we have a very clear view on the definition of Innovation. How did we get it? By asking 15 of the world’s top innovation experts, and finding the common definition, which is as […]
[…] year for example in a round-up of 15 so called innovation experts by Nick Skillicorn, over at ideatovalue com I was asked what was my definition. My reply […]
Innovation is…defined by men. Clearly, that’s all you need to be in order to be innovative.
That immediately jumped out at me too, Stephanie.
Ditto. Among 15 “experts”, you couldn’t find one woman for a possibly different and, dare I say it, innovative perspective? Or more than one male who is not white?
Wow, that was the thing that stood out to me, too!
Get real. And quit with the race/gender BS. We deal with that garbage all day on the news. Its ugly. Go create your own site.
Really agree that women would add to the article. Tough it was very insightful. Thanks for this article.
Good grief. I assume you are kidding. How about something substantive?
Agreed. Jeffrey Baumgartner talks about the importance of women at the top in innovation and yet no women are quoted. Ridiculous.
Innovation is bringing a product or service to a customer before they knew they needed it.
[…] per the article published on Idea To Value, 60% of the innovation experts said it’s about having an idea and executing the it, 40% […]
[…] is simply defined as the act of coming up with something new — whether it’s an idea, method or product. People love reliable, but they also love fresh […]
[…] Professional opinion on innovation can vary, from a simple statement of an solution that adds value for customers, to something more complex and specified for a certain organization. I like to view innovation from a consumers standpoint. […]
[…] on a careful analysis of 15 experts’ definition of ‘innovation,’ the ultimate definition was then […]
[…] 15 experts share their innovation definition – Idea to Value. [online] Available at: https://www.ideatovalue.com/inno/nickskillicorn/2016/03/innovation-15-experts-share-innovation-defin… [Accessed 25 Apr. […]
[…] https://www.ideatovalue.com/inno/nickskillicorn/2016/03/innovation-15-experts-share-innovation-defin… […]
[…] https://www.ideatovalue.com/inno/nickskillicorn/2016/03/innovation-15-experts-share-innovation-defin…. […]
Great article – thanks – lets just take these in.
Great article and discussion. That Mr. Skillicorn was even able to corner 15 leaders of innovation for this survey is amazing! However, in the process of writing a book that includes a great deal about how to become more of an innovator, I recently came across Webster’s and other dictionary definitions of Innovation and found them to be wanting.
I found that, like many of the meanings expressed above, the Websters.com meaning is “a new idea, device, or method; the act or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or methods”
The problem with using the term “new” in regard to Innovation, is that “new” is usually the domain of Invention. Innovation always builds upon existing technology or knowledge. It’s an extension of considering an existing challenge and as one leader above put it, would be “perceived as new”, or “new goodness” over an older or outdated product or service. We should say a “new method of” (peeling pears; creating lenses; frying an egg).
Invention is truly creating something new, if you’re adhering to patent requirements and tests. Even with that, often design patents are in the realm of innovation and not invention.
So I would say that to use the term “new” in conjunction with Innovation, it should only be used when comparing to older or former products, services, processes, or ways of thinking.
Aside from that, Innovation is King in today’s world where there’s not that much pure invention happening compared to the amazing innovation being fostered through articles and thought leaders such as we find here.
[…] What is innovation? 15 experts share their innovation definition […]
[…] What is innovation? 15 experts share their innovation definition […]
[…] What is innovation? 15 experts share their innovation definition […]
[…] to Value, fifteen thought-leaders in the area of innovation were asked how they defined innovation (What is innovation? 15 experts share their innovation definition). Their answers were valid and the full article is a good read. But not one explanation of […]
“Innovation transforms the useful seeds of invention into widely adopted solutions valued above every existing solution.” – Braden Kelley (@innovate)
[…] year for example in a round-up of 15 so called innovation experts by Nick Skillicorn, over at ideatovalue com I was asked what was my definition. My reply […]
[…] What is innovation? 15 experts share their innovation definition. (2016, November 04). Retrieved October 03, 2017, from https://www.ideatovalue.com/inno/nickskillicorn/2016/03/innovation-15-experts-share-innovation-defin… […]
Innovation is the creation of value.
Woman just enjoy the amazing article.
then what is the difference between innovation and creativity
[…] Longing for a more ideological definition of innovation? Well, you are in luck, because this piece, gives 15 of the most prominent innovation experts’ view on just what innovation really […]
[…] like Nick Skillicorn, the author of this Idea to Value article, ‘What is Innovation’ (https://www.ideatovalue.com/inno/nickskillicorn/2016/03/innovation-15-experts-share-innovation-defin…? the core vision comes back to the creation of value for customers, good execution – […]
[…] definition of innovation that seems most true to me comes from Nick Skillicorn at Idea to Value: “executing an idea which addresses a specific challenge and achieves value for both company and […]
[…] for 5WPR:- Finding lot of room for innovation, growth and change Ronn Torossian started 5WPR over 15 years ago as one man operation, today 175 […]
[…] is hardly a new innovation, but there are still many farmers in india for whom electricity 24/7 still sounds a like a dream […]
[…] to be innovative. You want to constantly be pushing the boundaries to keep your company at the top. Innovation inspires people to be creative and come up with new ways to share your business with the […]
[…] to be innovative. You want to constantly be pushing the boundaries to keep your company at the top. Innovation inspires people to be creative and come up with new ways to share your business with the […]
[…] to be innovative. You want to constantly be pushing the boundaries to keep your company at the top. Innovation inspires people to be creative and come up with new ways to share your business with the […]
[…] to be innovative. You want to constantly be pushing the boundaries to keep your company at the top. Innovation inspires people to be creative and come up with new ways to share your business with the […]
[…] One example is this roundup from experts describing what innovation means to them. […]
[…] Skillicorn did this and he gathered the answers in an interesting blog post that shows how vastly different even topic experts see the term […]
[…] Make sure that seasoned and new employees alike have a clear understanding of how your organization defines innovation and what it means in their role. You can explore fifteen definitions by experts in the field here. […]
[…] dos consumidores, atingindo ou criando novos mercados e segmentos, descritos nesse artigo de Nick Skillicorn,fundador da Improvides Innovation Consulting, onde lista 15 definições de inovação trazidas por […]
[…] 15 experts share their innovation definition – Idea to Value. [online] Available at: https://www.ideatovalue.com/inno/nickskillicorn/2016/03/innovation-15-experts-share-innovation-defin… [Accessed 27 Sep. […]
[…] recent study by Nick Skillicorn, founder and CEO of IdeatoValue, found 15 leading innovation experts returned 15 […]
[…] https://www.ideatovalue.com/inno/nickskillicorn/2016/03/innovation-15-experts-share-innovation-defin… […]
[…] many common points do exist, 15 innovation experts couldn’t even give one consistent definition of what innovation means in […]
[…] dos consumidores, atingindo ou criando novos mercados e segmentos, descritos nesse artigo de Nick Skillicorn,fundador da Improvides Innovation Consulting, onde lista 15 definições de inovação trazidas por […]
[…] struggling to find funding, it’s a concept that you may find difficult to actually capture. While defining innovation and what makes for innovative concepts may vary from one founder to another, I think we can all […]
[…] struggling to find funding, it’s a concept that you may find difficult to actually capture. While defining innovation and what makes for innovative concepts may vary from one founder to another, I think we can all […]
[…] to find funding, it’s a concept that you may find difficult to actually capture. While defining innovationand what makes for innovative concepts may vary from one founder to another, I think we can all […]
Hey Nick,
I enjoyed reading your article and I agree with your conclusions.
I also think that you might find some interesting points of view in this article:
https://valuer.ai/blog/modern-innovation-within-large-companies/
this article was a direct link from an Internal Innovation website, a great start to my journey. I really appreciate the candor of the above, and I like your data driven definition 🙂
Years ago I researched and found many definitions of “innovation” and I distilled them down to this:
The creation of something new to a market that ADDS VALUE to both the user and provider.
“New” can be any tangible or intangible idea, device, or method, and it may exist somewhere else in some form, but it is new to a specific market. It must add value to the provider/creator in some manner, and it must add value to the user/consumer which can be solving a problem, creating opportunities, or providing entertainment – whatever the user values. The greater the value, the more sustainable the innovation will be to a user.
Great structure! Asking many experts their vision on innovation and then bringing all their inputs together… very cool!
In our last article we also have asked a set of experts in regards of corporate innovation, and here are their truly intersting insights: https://valuer.ai/blog/corporate-innovation-expert-round-table/
Hope you’ll find it relevant!
Great article – innovatively defines innovation !
Innovation as value/output – Nick’s multi-faceted summary
Innovation as a process – a survey with three specific questions for ATTENTION
Innovation as an creative,new idea – each expert’s PERCEPTION on what is innovation ?
Thanks
[…] we all want it but most of us struggle to define it and ultimately do it. Definitions vary from focusing on idea generation, to new products, to the processes which enable new ideas. For me, […]
[…] Nick Skillicorn, what is innovation? March 18th, 2016, https://www.ideatovalue.com/inno/nickskillicorn/2016/03/innovation-15-experts-share-innovation-defin… […]
I onderschrijf Robert Brands: innovatie is alles wat nieuw is en tevens waarde toevoegt voor klant en bedrijf
Innovation is to reshape a machine, invenstion or idea to make it more user friendly to cater the need of the time.
Great article and very well put so that we can have different perspectives on what is innovation.
[…] meaning of innovation. Innovation is a word without a clear definition. Skillicorn’s (2016) blog post demonstrates the diversity in opinion around the meaning of innovation and guides our reflections […]
To me innovation is a kind of Create!
[…] IdeaToValue website : https://www.ideatovalue.com/inno/nickskillicorn/2016/03/innovation-15-experts-share-innovation-defi… […]
[…] of innovation felt more convoluted to me than communication. However, I found a few definitions here that I really liked. The first was, “Creativity is thinking of something new. Innovation is the […]
[…] One example is this roundup from experts describing what innovation means to them. […]
>Executing an idea which addresses a specific challenge and achieves value for both the company and customer
We can simplify it. “Executing an idea which addresses a specific challenge” could be rewritten as “solving a problem” or “turning an idea into a solution”
“and achieves value for both the company and customer” could be simply stated as “profitabe”
Together you get: Innovation is turning an idea into a profitable solution.
But I think that leaves something out. I like Drucker’s definition: “Innovation is the task of empowering human and material resources with new and greater wealth-producing capacity.”
Hi Max. I think that your suggestion is interesting but misses out on two items.
Firstly, “solving a Problem” leaves out a key word, which is “executing”. So many innovation initiatives fail because they assume that developing a solution is enough, but fall flat when it comes to executing.
The second point is that we need to tread very carefully when comparing the addition of value with profitability. Just because something makes a profit does not mean that it is innovative, or that it adds value. The way that Martin Shkreli’s company, Valeant pharmaceuticals, hiked up drug prices was extremely profitable, but added no value to the customer, and was therefore not an innovation. Similarly, many projects aimed at increasing profitability through cost reduction also don’t add value.
I believe that most of your “experts” miss the mark totally when it comes to innovation. To put it succinctly, I think that Innovation is the creation, testing, and/or implementation of ideas to achieve new results using existing tools, processes and/or people. All else is either improvement or invention.
Dan, I would suggest though that just because a result is new, doesn’t automatically make it valuable
Hi Nick,
Thank you for the post, its very interesting topic generally and controversial at the same time (I am a big fan 🙂 )
I believe innovation definition must include both (NEW to the organization + ADD VALUE). In the context of the organization… Innovation is all new ideas that are new to the organization and add value to stakeholders.
I mean by value both financial and non financial (solve a problem, cost reduction, satisfy customer, improve performance, new business model, new product, new service, increase customer happiness, improve sustainability, reduce carbon footprint ….etc. ).
If we didn’t add the word “NEW” that’s mean we are considering the routine work we do everyday is innovative as long as it produce value. which I disagree with, we innovate
The outcome of the ideation process is a prototype of anything (service, product, model, …etc.) not an execution. we execute only when its final, refined, successful and scalable. One last thing innovation to me is about embracing failure and encourage failure to create things differently adds value.
Looking forward to hear your thoughts.
Hi Nick, Thanks for all these wonderful definitions of innovation. I liked the David Burkus definition of innovation. The novelty of ideas, as well as the usefulness, are the essential ingredients of innovation.
[…] Gijs van Wulfen, author of the FORTH Innovation Methodology. Let’s explain to our board, our teams and our partners that innovation is not blue-sky thinking, […]
My definition of innovation:
any idea
implemented
in a way that creates new demand
Hello?
Innovation is the key to success as I can quote.
Many people who are so innovative are likely to achieve their goals in life.
This article is so nice to most of the people.
Thank you so much
I found it interesting that all of the innovators were male. While the group itself was extremely diverse as far as the industries and backgrounds they were from, it would be interesting to get some perspectives from others outside of this group.
[…] challenge and achieves value for both the company and customer’ was the most fitting one I found. When looking at executing your digital transformation, make sure the new tool ticks the boxes for […]
Why is there not a woman on this list?
I have myself have been apart of innovating, coming up with great ideas for clients and the company to grow as well as help the clients in they’re daily needs. I’ve always been on sales innovating was a great opportunity for my team and I to come up with ideas to help the company
[…] is fifteen different things to fifteen different […]
[…] are many definitions of innovation (see here, here, and here for some), but let’s keep it […]
[…] What is innovation? 15 innovation experts give us their definition. […]
[…] completely happy with this short and slightly ambiguous definition I turned once more to Google and found a link which presented how fifteen expert innovators define the word. This is supported with some very nice images as well. Reading through these, there appeared to be a […]
[…] Nick Skillicorn, founder and CEO of Improvides Innovation Consulting, actually asked 15 experts to offer their definition of innovation and he got 15 different answers. Check it out HERE. […]
Thanks for sharing your research – very interesting. Also interesting that there is not one women on your list of 15 … perhaps some innovation of your selection process is in order next time?
I meant “woman” not “women”…
I noticed the same thing Mary… the diversity in the realm of Innovation leadership is not yet balanced. I do believe the author could have made an effort to balance the gender perspective, especially if the goal was to achieve diversity in the answers to his questions.
[…] us a starting point for what it is. While there is a dictionary definition, even the experts have different ideas on what exactly innovation […]
[…] answer ‘applicable ideas while staying relevant’. Meanwhile, even according to some experts as interviewed by Nick Skillicorn, you will get various answers from useful and novelty application to anything […]
[…] blogger Nick Skillicorn interviewed 15 innovation “experts” and each one came up with a slightly different definition of innovation. Some focused more on […]
[…] Innovation is a vague, mostly meaningless term that obscures what you’re really trying to accomplish. It can mean almost anything. Everyone has a definition; here’s 15 of them. […]
[…] fact, according to Nick Skillicorn of Idea to Value, he interviewed 15 “innovation experts” and came up with this conclusion: every one of these […]
[…] acuerdo con Idea to Value, la innovación se refiere al proceso de “transformar una idea en una […]
Great article, sorry I am just now seeing it.
My definition is innovation “Creativity, expressed, manufactured and consumed”. Just 5 words but encompasses the initial creativity, the need to communicate an idea, the requirement that it can be built (product) or implemented (process or service) and it must have utility (ie: users).
[…] Nick (2016) What is innovation? 15 experts share their innovation definition. Available at: https://www.ideatovalue.com/inno/nickskillicorn/2016/03/innovation-15-experts-share-innovation-defin… (Accessed: 26 October 2019)The Art of Innovation: From Enlightenment to Dark Matter (2019) […]
[…] “l’innovazione?” Il termine è così diffuso che il suo significato è serpeggiava. Anche tra i principali esperti dell’innovazione, non c’è accordo. E, quando guardiamo l’innovazione attraverso l’urbano […]
[…] his words: “This will encourage local research, innovation centres, technology and so much more. A lot of these could actually be placed on university […]
I absolutely hate the term innovation and how it’s thrown around in so many companies now. Innovation is a “rear view mirror” term meaning a company doesn’t decide if it’s being innovative; the customers, both internal and external, decide if the product or service is innovative well after it’s been introduced. If you get market acceptance and THEN market adoption and THEN market dependence then you have an innovative product or service.
The easiest example is the smart phone, you have market acceptance (people started to buy it and like it), you have market adoption (all competitors in that market designed and introduced their version) and finally market dependence (hard to imagine life without it and it’s now the new norm).
[…] Innovation is Executing an idea which addresses a specific challenge and achieves value for both the… […]
[…] definition of innovation that puts together the words of the world’s greatest innovation leaders:Innovation is Executing an idea which addresses a specific challenge and achieves value for both the…Personally, I like to understand innovation as an improvement, something new that is a real […]
[…] their definition of “innovation“. The variety in their responses may surprise you./ continue […]
My innovation is that any Idea which add value to belongingness.
[…] Phase 2-Developing the Implementation Plan This is a Group assignment. In Phase 2, your team will work together to develop a detailed description and implementation plan for the innovation you selected to pursue in Module 3. Each team member must research and describe a product development or management process, methodology, or model that could be utilized to implement the innovation. The group should select and use one of these models for developing its own implementation method. So, for this assignment, write a paper that addresses the following: Firstly, finalize the name and include a one- or two-sentence description of the innovation. […]
[…] What is innovation – 15 experts share their innovation definition […]
[…] of 15 innovation experts. Before making a contribution to this discussion forum, read “What is innovation? 15 innovation experts give us their definition (Links to an external site.)” […]
[…] We also really like this post on Idea to Value which can be found here. […]
My Innovation is that people try to understand the nature of universe.
[…] of 15 innovation experts. Before making a contribution to this discussion forum, read “What is innovation? 15 innovation experts give us their definition (Links to an external site.)” […]
[…] um artigo do site Idea to Value, o autor Nick Skillicorn falou com 15 especialistas para saber quais eram suas definições de […]
experts share their innovation definition， so i’ve got it. Thank you!
[…] with a viable business model that is perceived as new and is adopted by customers. –Gijs van Wulfen, author of the FORTH innovation […]
Thanks for sharing your research! Really interesting points that were brought up!
Good Article
[…] the other hand, if you were to simply move ahead quickly with something that creates real value and solves at least some of the problems, you’ll see which of your assumptions and concerns are […]
[…] Experts have championed all of these definitions – and many more of them. […]
[…] Experts have championed all of these definitions – and plenty of extra of them. […]
[…] Experts have championed all of these definitions – and plenty of extra of them. […]
[…] Experts have championed all of these definitions – and many more of them. […]
[…] Experts have championed all of these definitions – and many more of them. […]
[…] https://www.ideatovalue.com/inno/nickskillicorn/2016/03/innovation-15-experts-piece-innovation-defin… […]
[…] of those fit with David Burkus’s definition of innovation as “application of ideas that are novel and useful”– and […]
[…] the New Year, the innovative ways that the companies chose demanded some adjustments here and there in approach. Some of them […]
[…] By definition, it’s about doing something new that hasn’t been done before. As such, there’s a lot of uncertainty and question marks related to almost every aspect of it. […]
[…] The most relevant definition you’ll find on Google is the “ultimate definition of innovation” by Nick Skillicorn: […]
[…] Innovation on the other hand is executing an idea which addresses a specific challenge and achieves value for both the company and customer. […]
[…] 普段からよく使う言葉でありながら、ふんわりとした理解に留まっていましたので改めて調べてみました。結論から言うと、明確な定義はありません。今でも「イノベーションとはなにか？」については様々な人が様々に定義していて、持論を展開している状況です。コチラでは15人の研究者それぞれによる定義が載っていてとても興味深いです。 […]