Ideas on their own aren't innovation

Just as raw meat isn’t a meal, ideas on their own are not innovation. Innovation creates value from ideas, and this only happens when the ideas are implemented. An idea without implementation is just a thought bubble.

Successful innovation requires commitment, consistency and collaboration. Of these, collaboration has been under most threat in recent times. In 2020, what we trust as ‘safe’ has changed and this has influenced the way we collaborate. In 2020 scientists around the world have been collaborating at an escalating scale and pace. The imperative to quickly share information has set aside the traditional paths to publishing scientific research findings.

For collaboration to be purposeful, it requires a conscious decision and deliberate effort to bring people together who might usually pass in the hall. There needs to be a visible commitment to empower innovation. This includes commitment of funds and allocation of time for innovation activities. It also means adopting a consistent approach to innovate every day, rather than one-off or occasional activities. Ad hoc innovation leads to ad hoc results.

In 2020, the world changed. We faced enormous challenges, which present us now with amazing opportunities. As we take our next steps, we can choose what we carry with us, and what we leave behind. Beyond 2020, innovation is not a luxury, it’s an imperative. Tangible and intangible have been transformed, and our perception of what is safe has been altered, perhaps forever.

Beyond 2020, what we create matters more than what we own. Success in our new era requires us to move beyond an individualistic focus on our own survival to embrace a collaborative approach to innovation that we embed through consistency and commitment. It’s the time to focus not on what we’ve lost, but on what we can now create, together.

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