Where imagination meets reality and sparks fly, innovation is the creation of new thing or improvement of the existing one with the creation and addition of values. It is a continuous process with which people can touch the limits of skies beyond imagination.
“If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old”. —Peter Drucker
The future belongs to those who dare to innovate and he who hesitates is lost. But the problem is how to drive innovation and how to innovate? These questions often stop the engine of progress. This article is about such drivers of innovation and all the details about it. What are the types and what are the strategies through which innovation can be driven? All these things will be addressed.
Table of Contents
Understanding Innovation
Let’s try to find more about innovation, what does it mean, why it matters, purpose of the research, forms of innovation, underlying motivations, and various move to drive innovations.
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What is Innovation?
Before going to the in-depth details of how to drive innovation, it would be better to know what basically innovation is. Innovation is the creation of new thing or improvement of the existing one with the creation and addition of values.
The first thing is creative new things with new ideas, concepts and creativity. It can also refer to as improvement of the existing thing with some new thoughts and betterment. Values can also be added and created to products or things through innovation. Values may be off different kinds like; social, economic, political, environmental or personal.
Why does it Matter?
All new things in the world are made possible through discoveries and innovation. You cannot imagine modernity without innovation, technology is developing with each and every passing day with the help of innovative concepts of science. People take risk, think something extra-ordinary, work day and night for change, test things on different other and finally create something new.
The process is not so easy it needs leaders, risk-takers, creative thinker, economy, and numerous other things. So without innovation life would be the same as it was thousands of years ago.
Significance: Innovation Fuels the Engine of Progress
Innovation is of the significant importance and you cannot deny the pivotal role of innovations in the world. It fuels the engine of progress means that it is beneficial for the economic growth and development. It enables the companies to introduce new things with new technology, by doing so they tend to provide good service, products of good quality and the feasible prices.
It is helpful in the competitive environment among the companies. It also gives rooms to human mind to think out of the box something phenomenal that result in the inventions of different things and machines.
In addition to that it helps people in overcoming the societal challenges by social progress and wellbeing. It also promotes the sustainability and protection to the environment.
The marginalized people can participate in the race of life with the elites through innovations. It also provides criticality and creativity to solve the existing problems and address the issues of the world. Innovation also makes possible the personal and professional satisfaction. So its significance is to solve the problems, to overcome the societal barriers, to do progress, and make change through creativity and collaboration.
Challenges In The Path Of Innovation
The vehicle of progress and innovation may face different bumps like the lack of talent, funds, skillful people, leadership, infrastructure etc. There you may face fear of failure and lack of curiosity or the rapidly trends of market.
On account of all these challenges in the path of innovation still keen people seek the ways how to drive innovation and they get success only by overcoming all the challenges. It is not necessary for you to face all the challenges at a time; you may face only a few of them or one of them in your path or none. But all it is up to you and your motivation that how are driven to progress an innovation.
Types of Innovation
Innovation may be of countless types according to the thoughts, idea and concepts. Different values are added and of different aspects like social, environmental, economic, personal or political. So innovation may range from very small to high global level, the major types of innovation are the following:-
1. Radical Innovation
The very basic type of innovation is that in which something new is created with new ideas, concepts and thoughts that never existed before and is introduced to the world for the very first time.
By doing so the market adopts the entirely new thing and if it is liked by people that product hijack the whole market. The existing thing which was somehow alternative to the new is abounded by the world and is considered somehow failed. For instance the invention of vehicles, airplanes, internet, mobile phones, laptop, etc. is radical innovations.
2. Incremental Innovation
The second type of innovation is the improvements made in the things which are already existed in the world. This type of innovation is not that much crucial as compared to the first type of innovation. Incremental innovation works on the existing things which are already present in the market but are not good or still need a room for improvement.
The examples of incremental innovations may include; introducing cameras etc. to the mobile phones, new designs and luxurious technologies to the cars, fuel efficiency to airplanes etc.
3. Disruptive Innovation
Disruptive innovation is the third type which means the innovation that presents an alternative to the existing things or products and outperforms them. Its name in symbolic of the fact that it disrupts the already things and the preset business, it also results in the establishments of new industries.
Introducing the online business like that of Amazon, the modernization of the vehicle industry, introducing the electric cars, the replacement of the traditional film cameras by the new digital ones, etc. are the examples of the disruptive innovation.
4. Process Innovation
The name indicates that it is innovation in the ways, processes and techniques of introducing things or products. It overlooks the ways, if they are not cheaper and easy and is very traditional and stereotypical so new strategies are made to replace the existing ways. Process innovation may include the manufacturing ways, the implementations of new strategies, and the taking of new models of business.
5. Business Model Innovation
This includes the introduction of new ideas, thoughts and concepts to the ways of business and service provision. Business model innovations are made to change or replace the existing ways of business with new and creative. For instance introducing the subscription model and the launching of premium models are the business model innovation.
6. Technological Innovation
This is the innovation in the technological world, in which new technologies are introduced and adopted to the things. Technological innovation has revolutionized the world by its creativity, criticality and through many other was. The development of the AI, genetic engineering, new software and hardwires etc. are the products of the technological innovation.
How to Drive Innovation?
The first way to drive innovation is the facing and overcoming of the above all challenges that may come in the path of innovation. To drive innovation you need phenomenal leadership, set goals, creative problem-solving skills, critical thinking, access to understand the market trends, collaborating team and countless more.
Moreover, you also need psychological and geopolitical climate and the risk culture, celebrating failures and organizational culture. Finding solutions of challenges in cross functional collaboration may also drive innovation.
Drivers of Innovation
What are the drivers of innovation? The major drivers of innovation that make possible it and reduce the challenges in the path of it are the following:-
i). Leadership: Fostering Innovation
The first and foremost driver of innovation is the phenomenal leadership, you will need a leadership that foster innovation. If you are the leader yourself then you must develop the skill to make innovation easy for each and every one who is working with you and for you. Innovative leader foster innovation and ask for innovation, he provide training and tools. If the workers are innovative but not the leader than they are flop.
ii). Inquiring the Contemporary Trends Well
Without inquiring the contemporary trends of innovation in the market you cannot grow innovatively. Inquire the market well not on local level but globally and think over the trends that what changes should you brought to attract the clients to the new technology. Always see if there is nothing to replace determine the ways, may be it will work for you.
Good leaders are those who always keep updating their selves with the world and always thing of 10X than that of the others. Determine the necessities of people and the ranges in which they need something, it is the key of driving innovation.
iii). Setting High Goals to Drive Innovation
Setting goals may drive the innovation highly, if you set goals high achieving them will not be so difficult. If the set goals are not achieved then at least the short term goals must be achieved effectively and easily. Leader set goals and inquires the ways of innovation, if the workers fail in getting the target the leader support them. He set another goals or change the way of getting them.
iv). Making Every Individual Innovative
How to make everyone make innovative and how to dive innovation? Both the scenarios are much interrelated. Making everyone compelling to drive innovation will make the flow of creating new ideas. Providing workers the training and the effective tools will make definitely everyone innovative. Never ever quit the innovation because of failure.
v). Making Innovation Processes Accessible To All
If only the leaders have access and tools to get and drive the innovation, the organization have high chances to fail. It needs to provide platform to the entire worker in the pyramid to get the desired results. Funds new ideas and support them, if you face any challenge there, find out the possible ways to solve the problems in collaboration.
vi). Going Beyond Products Development
Innovation only limited to products and the technology is good but not prosperous. Think innovatively beyond the products development will be more effective. Let’s assume the example of the iPod, they product is great innovation in the technological world but its collaboration with music industry made it phenomenal. Alexa the product is extraordinary but amazon working the Alexa device made the world speechless.
vii). Collaborating Teams That Support Innovation
Recall some drivers that leaders, access of all to innovation, innovation beyond the products etc. compel on the thoughts that one of them will not the way it has to done in collaboration of all. So collaborating different teams and asking their suggestions and recommendations about the new ideas will drive the innovation in the next well. Taking costumers and consumers in consideration and finding out the problems, the approaching the collectively problem-solving skills will be worth noticing.
viii). Psychological Climate: Welcoming New Ideas
Making the psychological climate with welcoming the new ideas of all the people will sort out the issues. . Make a platform and welcome the idea of each and every one. It is obvious that all of their ideas will not be worth working for, so make a list of phenomenal ideas and then short list a few of them.
Collaborate different teams and assigned them the task of working on each of the. They will come up with the most effective and then pick one or two of them. Great leaders do so and then flourish the world easily.
ix). Geopolitical Climate: Using Diversity
In addition to the psychological climate, the geo political climate can also drive innovation. If you ask the question how to drive innovation, then use diversity in your organization.
You will find each and every one with creativity and criticality, all of them will be eager for innovation. All it needs to dig out the grounds for innovation and it will be made possible by combining all and shaping a geopolitical climate. It is okay if you found some weakness along with some strength, avoid negativity and very positively create a way of using diversity to overcome the problems.
x). Shaping a Culture of Innovation
Along with climate there are three more important dimensions that are people, processes and policies. Shape a culture of innovation and make everyone part of that culture. This innovation culture will support individual and team creativity. The four dimensions will shape the innovation culture. There will be a hierarchy of innovation in the culture, so in that ecosystem give and get the chances of flourishing.
xi). Culturing Risk Taking and Experimentations
The whole discussion revolves around the fact that risk taking and experimentations on new ideas and concepts drive innovation. If an organization has very talented people who think creatively but the leaders are afraid of risks and failure and are unable to experiment on new things the flow will stop and they will never grow prosperous. The major driver of innovation is risk taking and experimentations.
xii). Organizational Culture: Exhibiting the Significance of Innovation
Among other cultures this one, the organizational culture is pivotal. The logic is very simple, train all employs and provide tools of innovation with the knowledge that experiment more on new ideas and never think of failure. Train the other leading managers to lead the employees with innovation, ask them to get innovative ideas to work on.
Reward each and every one accountably; the others will know the significance of innovation automatically. Only saying and not working with innovation is not enough.
xiii). Celebrating Changes and Failures
Instead of the blame game, celebrating the failures and changes will drive innovation. Make the environment in such a manner that everyone tend to try and no one think of failure. Give them the opportunity of experimentations to everyone, it is obvious that only a few of the will get success.
It does not mean that others are willingly failed, no one want to be failed and lag behind others, just celebrate the try and experiments. It will help you in shaping the positive environment.
xiv). Finding Solutions of Challenges In Cross-Functional Collaboration
Celebrating the failures and changes will provide you the opportunity to dig out the problems in collaboration. Finding solutions of challenges in cross cultural collaboration will easily drive innovation. The very obvious fact is that there are very little chances that all of the experiments will be succeeded, only a few of them will. So find out the reasons of failures in collaboration and economically encourage those who failed with new ideas to experiment.
xv). Economic Climate: Economically Supporting Innovation
No one wants to be failed, and all of the employees cannot be successful. Do not disown the failure and changes, rather, own them collaboratively. Studies and researches have shown that in pressure time focus is increased and companies tend to think innovatively to flourish. So in the very distress never quit experimenting new ideas, if they failed try on more and fund them openhearted. The successful people made history only in their tight time and brought new innovative things.
Conclusion
To have a quick overview, Innovation is the creation of new thing or improvement of the existing one with the creation and addition of values. The first thing is creative new things with new ideas, concepts and creativity. How to drive innovation? You cannot imagine modernity without innovation, technology is developing with each and every passing day with the help of innovative concepts of science.
People take risks, think something extra-ordinary, work day and night for the change, do experimentations on different other things and finally create something new.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to drive innovation?
To drive innovation means to work effectively with innovation and creating something new or improving the existing one with new ideas. It fuels the engine of progress means that it is beneficial for the economic growth and development. Its significance is to solve the problems, to overcome the societal barriers, to do progress, and make changes through creativity and collaboration.
What are 5 drivers of innovation?
The five major drivers of the innovation are; inquiring the contemporary market trends, experimenting new things, celebrating failure, leadership that foster innovation and finding solutions to the challenges in collaboration. Others are; access of all to innovation, innovation beyond the products, welcoming new ideas and setting high goals.
What can drive innovation?
To drive innovation you need phenomenal leadership, set goals, creative problem-solving skills, critical thinking, access to understand the market trends, collaborating team and countless more. Moreover, you also need psychological and geopolitical climate and the risk culture, culture of celebrating failures and organizational culture. Finding solutions of challenges in cross functional collaboration may also drive innovation.
What behaviors drive innovation?
The behaviors that drive innovation are; leadership that foster innovation, setting goals, creative problem-solving skills, critical thinking, access to understand the market trends, collaborating team, celebrating the failure and experimenting changes with new ideas.
