Innovation vs. Invention: Finding your own path to success

Not everyone can be an inventor, but anyone can be an innovator. The concepts of innovation and invention, though often used interchangeably, have distinct meanings, particularly in the context of technology, business, and product development. Understanding these differences is crucial for anyone interested in these fields, as both concepts are essential for progress.

What is an Invention?

An invention is creating a new product, device, process, or concept that has not previously existed. It is often the result of research and development and involves a significant breakthrough in technology or knowledge.

What is Innovation?

Innovation is the process of turning an invention or an existing idea into a valuable product, service, or process that can be commercially successful. It involves implementing and improving ideas to meet market needs or solve problems.

You don't need to be an inventor to change this world; those incremental innovations through the collective thought process can be very useful for humanity. Innovators include not only those who create new products but also those who improve processes, business models, and services. Innovators are critical for economic growth and often outnumber inventors because innovation encompasses a broader range of activities beyond just creating new inventions.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO , 3.46 million patents were filed in 2022 . According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, there are 327 million entrepreneurs worldwide in 40 countries.

The Medici Effect - The intersection of diverse disciplines, cultures, and perspectives

My former colleague Yasmeen Ahmad wrote this article recently on how to create more rewarding work . She discussed her experience of The Medici Effect, a concept popularized by Frans Johansson in his book "The Medici Effect: What Elephants and Epidemics Can Teach Us About Innovation ." The Medici Effect refers to the phenomenon where breakthrough ideas and innovations emerge from the intersection of diverse disciplines, cultures, and perspectives.

How does the Medici Effect help with innovation?

1. Cross-Pollination of Ideas: Combining diverse insights from different fields and backgrounds leads to novel solutions. All my ideas result from collaborating with a wide range of people worldwide. There are various approaches to idea generation , but nothing is better than collaborating with a diverse group.
2. Breaking Down Silos: Promotes open communication and collaboration across fields, breaking rigid disciplinary boundaries. Hence, it provides a comprehensive understanding of problems and multifaceted solutions. My life and career have been shaped by constant collaboration with people from a diverse group of people. Understanding each other and working with anyone from any background creates possibilities you would not have thought of before.
3. Enhanced Creativity: Creating new concepts by combining disparate ideas. This is what I talk about how to create a spaceship out of a dinosaur set .
4. Risk-Taking and Experimentation: This encourages entering the unknown and testing untried combinations. Diverse teams view failures as opportunities, promoting a culture of risk-taking and learning.
5. New Market Opportunities: Diverse perspectives identify unmet needs and overlooked market opportunities.
6. Cross-Industry Applications: Applying innovations from one industry to another, creating new business opportunities. I use this regularly; e.g., when I am short of ideas in one industry, say telecom, I will borrow a concept from another sector, such as Market Basket Analysis from Retail. The idea is straightforward: what is the likelihood of buying milk alongside bread when you go to the market? In the telecom industry, we can apply this to find the possibility of having the YouTube app if you also have WhatsApp .

Cross-Disciplinary Insights: A New Writing System

The book covers a very inspiring story: Sequoyah , a Native American from the Cherokee Nation , achieved something remarkable without formal education. Inspired by the English alphabet and European writing systems, he began to create a written form of the Cherokee language. Rather than replicating the alphabet directly, Sequoyah invented a unique syllabary, where each symbol represents a syllable. This story highlights the importance of diverse backgrounds. There is no way people with the same backgrounds would have created a new syllabary.

Conclusion

Not everyone is an inventor, but everyone can be an innovator by applying their unique perspectives to different problems. To broaden your horizons, please interact and collaborate with people who are dissimilar to you, and you might come up with something unique.

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