Revolutionary innovation and transitional innovation: new intensities of innovation that challenge our humanity

The intensity of the innovation corresponds to the level of discount in question of the established order. You are free to challenge the market or technology, or both: we will then talk about disruption or disruptive innovation.

We took over the vision of Dr Christensen and the modeling of Pr Millet?from and we have made it evolve by integrating innovations disruptive trends in recent years. The disruption, described by Christensen as being the one with the most intensity, because it "disrupts" both uses and technology, is no longer a reality.

Today the model must evolve to integrate two new "intensities" or "natures" of innovation because they challenge us in our future and even in our humanity. Knowing how to position innovations in these new categories which are "transitional innovations" or "revolution" is also knowing how to arbitrate and not just let the market decide to preserve TRUE Innovation

New Innovation intensity model: how preserve TRUE Innovation

Today, indeed, service companies have succeeded to “disrupt” the market with digital technologies that weren't necessarily innovative. Conversely, some solutions are technological breakthroughs that do not change uses, but for example responding to concerns ethical. The creation of a substance like paint water-based industrial equipment for military devices changes nothing in terms of its use. However, such substance would constitute a technological breakthrough. The new ethical standards around the protection of the environment and employees position the companies that master these technologies on the front line at the business level.In the end, to characterize the intensity of an innovation, it should be positioned on two axes:

• Axis 1: is this a break in uses, a break marketing?
• Axis 2: is this a technological breakthrough?

Incremental innovation

Incremental innovation, also called "product improvement", is generally the result of an emprovement the performance of the product or service. It is often the result resulting from a continuous improvement approach such as what can quality bring to a business?

It is perceived as "modest" in the world of innovations. Incremental innovation does not require fundamental changes within the company and this will not create a sudden change (see figure 14) in users or the market. It consists of improving the existing one.

Strategically, we see that a company is developing an incremental innovation essentially to maintain a technological lead over its competitors. Take the example of a wet and dry vacuum cleaner. This is only the improvement of the performance "creation of a depression to aspire ”which made it possible to develop the also sucks up dust from the water and, thus, slightly widening its field of action.

Architectural innovation

In design science, we say that a product is considered as a set of functional parts. Those the latter are composed of technical elements called "Subsystems", which are all related to each other. If we go back to our vacuum cleaners, we can say (and what is not exhaustive) that a vacuum cleaner is made up of:

• an engine subsystem;
• a filter subsystem;
• a reservoir subsystem;
• a suction nozzle subsystem, etc.

All these functional parts are assembled and connected to make a single vacuum cleaner. Achieving architectural innovation consists of modifying the order, the assembly rule of these technical subsystems. This therefore modifies the links, the interfaces between these technical parts. You will also hear about modular innovation. This is just a type of incremental innovation that consists of replace a functional subsystem with something more efficient without modifying the original assembly between all the pieces of the puzzle.

Synthetic innovation

Synthetic innovation is by far the one that has the ratio most favorable marketing / risk impact. In fact, we are talking about synthetic innovation when we assemble several products (of different functions) to make one. For example, when you assemblea landline and a fax you get a phone / fax.

In the same sector, the printer / scanner / fax machine is the mix of three products. These synthetic innovations can also take place by mixing products and services. Michelin offers the sale of a tire (the product) associated with a breakdown service (a service). You are no longer buying a simple product, but what we call a design, a solution.

The user feels listened to and understood: the product takes over the devious uses that the market had put in place for lack of having the ideal product. This therefore has a strong impact for Branding. In addition, technologically, it It is enough to work at the level of the interfacing of several "stable" products and the difficulty will focus only on the assembly. It is obvious that disturbances can appear inside each assembled product, but the implementation of a quality approach should make it possible to meet that need for problem solving

Breakthrough or disruptive innovation

Breakthrough innovation requires a perfect mastery of technologies and optimal market knowledge. It is by far the riskiest innovation, because it offers generally a complete modification of the uses, benchmarks, habits that the customer, the market or the user had until now. As we have seen previously, there is no innovation only if the new product is accepted by the customer. However, in modifying the conditions of use, you will have to manage a change by rupture. We will have to show anticipation, education and communication to try to support this change, because the product is too discrepancy with habits. If it is not accepted by the market, it will fall back into the realm of inventions.

Breakthrough innovation is sometimes also based on a leap technological. As with any development of new technologies, new risks may arise. It will therefore be the quality approach that will be requested to guarantee the most robust technological response possible.

Back to the Dyson bagless vacuum cleaner which is a good case school. Indeed, Dyson has developed a technology in break with the existing which allowed it to increase the suction performance of its product exponentially. At the launch of his product, the "socialization" (communication) of his invention was essentially based on the absence of a bag. Pay for such an expensive device just because it there is no bag, however that makes you think ... The product does not fit did not sell. But when the brand communicated that the power of its device (technological breakthrough) made it possible to suck up dust mites (market breakthrough), consumers understood the added value of this product. The invention became the breakthrough innovation we know.

Transformative innovation : we can influence

Transformative innovation is innovation that reshuffles the cards in a hitherto well established sector, such as taxis or hotels. A new use or the emergence of technology is causing upheaval. Logically, the actors of the existing order are fighting to refuse the generalization of these innovations which sometimes exploit gaps legal, or quite simply that do not comply with the regulations in force. We are in the midst of destruction creative.

Even if some practices are not considered as fair or legal, these innovations change customer practices, opening up new strategic fields that push the players in place to adapt quickly, to review their model. What if, at the end of the day, the regulations pushes these innovators to comply with laws and rules, the door to disruptive innovation has been opened and cannot be will close more. A new strategic space has been cleared.

But we keep the possibility of influencing by regulation or by societal influence to avoid that this returns to the established order: it is our system which can still decide (and not only the market)

Revolutionary innovation: we must arbitrate!

When we have written our last book about DISNOVATION, we have developed the concept of revolutionary innovation. Bruno Patino said in his last book : "digital innovations represented by social networks and other solutions are reconfiguring our humanity".

Than we understand how some companies are creating a kind of modern collective sedation by depriving our children of brain time available to develop critical thinking, resilience and pugnacity ... necessarily making them dependent on all the services that these same actors offer to fill these gaps.

This made us realize that between the Space X projects of transforming the human species into an interplanetary species or even by working on the new regimes of social life of future space collars, it is a questioning of our humanity that is engaged. Indeed the “rules of life” on Mars will not be the same and will inevitably influence our behavior on earth.

These revolutionary innovations are not necessarily technological. Some “disruptive” innovations will in fact directly or indirectly influence our societal trends in the long term, leading to changes in our humanity. #Transhumanism is one of this tendance which open ways on revolutionary innovation

On this type of innovation we must have an opinion to ensure that we guarantee real innovation, those that support the axes of human progress

We must put spirituality back in our management systems and put humanity and ecology back at the center of our reflections

From " Don't Innovate, Dinovate" by Arnaud Groff PhD and Lionel Meneghin (édition Mardaga)