Defining innovation: what does it take to become an innovator?
West Yorkshire Business and Skills
Ensuring everyone in our region benefits from a strong economy by helping businesses and enterprises to thrive.
Have you ever stopped to wonder what life would look like if no one had ever asked the question:??
“What would happen if we did things differently?”??
Would meeting in person still be perceived as the only productive way of collaborating with our teams? Would we still view the office as the only place where we could work effectively??
Fortunately, innovators throughout history and all over the world have harnessed an innovative mindset in order to forge some of the life changing ideas that each of us benefits from today.??
Innovation describes new ideas that either generate new services and products, or updates to existing ones, with the goal of creating improvements for the future. As a key element of entrepreneurship and developing an SME, innovation is what allows creative and forward looking thinkers to leave a positive impact on their industries and communities.??
So, we know that innovation is an essential element of life and business. But how do you know where to innovate, and how to create impact where it’s needed???
Take a look at some of the most common definitions of innovation, and how you might be able to align these concepts with what you do.??
What is continuous innovation???
Otherwise known as incremental innovation, continuous innovation centres on the idea that large scale impact can be achieved by creating lots of small changes, sustained over a longer period of time. Let’s look at Apple as an example. Every year they release an update to their world famous iPhone model. They don’t alter the core functions of the phone itself, and instead find design features and create software that improves the overall experience of the user. This is continuous innovation.??
What is dynamically continuous innovation???
If you’re trying to create change to your products or services without entirely shaking up your customer base, you might be a dynamically continuous innovator. For example, this can look like releasing an additional product to an existing line, without updating other products, or partnering with another organisation with a similar offer to your own.??
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What is disruptive innovation???
Disruptive innovation, unlike continuous innovation, focuses instead on creating fewer but larger changes to how things are done. These evolutions can have huge impacts on their industries, forcing previously high performing organisations to either join the movement, innovate around it, or get left behind entirely. Working from home is a great example of disruptive innovation in action. What started as an innovative solution to a global threat, working from home has now redefined the way we work and live entirely. Cited as the new Industrial Revolution by Forbes , organisations that either can’t or won’t provide support infrastructures that allow their people to work from home post pandemic are now struggling to retain their staff , being left behind in favour of more flexible and supportive organisations.?? ?
What is digital innovation???
Our relationship with technology is forever changing, and so we need a combination of larger scale changes and more frequent updates to ensure that technology can still support our needs. Digital innovation uses this constantly evolving technology to solve our business problems. Whether it’s developing a new software or platform, using an existing one to apply it to a new context, or taking your operations digital, creating digital innovation is more accessible than you might think.??
What is social innovation???
Social innovation is where new ideas meet the needs of society. This then creates an ecosystem of further innovation, as more marginalised communities in society are brought closer to the tables where future, innovative decisions are being made. Social innovation can take the form of campaigns, activism or any widely accessible tool that removes barriers within society. The Open University is a great example of social innovation, designed to overcome the exclusion of working class students from progressing to higher education.??
All of these different types of innovation are carried out by a special breed of entrepreneur: the innovators. What may at first seem like a lofty label is, in fact, a mindset that can be adopted by almost anyone.??
What is an innovator? Key skills and characteristics:??
For those that possess some of these innovator characteristics, don’t worry, the fate of society and its evolution does not rest solely on your shoulders. There is support out there for entrepreneurs and businesses looking to shake things up and make change for the better.??
From 3-7 October 2022, the West Yorkshire Innovation Network is creating such a platform for support to innovators, at the West Yorkshire Innovation Festival . During the weeklong festival, featuring events, workshops and talks, entrepreneurs and SMEs will discover more about the rich and varied support mechanisms available to innovators across the region.