What Is Not An Innovation?
Dr. Mohannad Abudayyah, MBA, PMP, CMI, CP3P, OKR- P, CPVA
Manager of National Innovation Ecosystem Activation at MonshaatSA
“You shouldn’t do things differently just because they’re different. They need to be better.”
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If you read this in 10 years’ time, you’ll no doubt pity me, as at this point in time, I envy all those lucky people who own an electric car that drives itself, parks itself, and charges itself. I was certain that if I Googled innovation, I’d find such a car dominating the first 100 results pages. At least, this is what I thought before trying it. Actually, the search results contained tons of puzzling examples. One such example was an average chess player offering a service he claimed to be “innovative.” He would visit the house of a lonely customer, play a single game, get paid, and leave happily ever after. Another example was a girl offering an entertainment show that combines magic tricks with storytelling. Guess what she called her hybrid show? An “innovative show”! Exactly. So, join me, dear reader, on a trip to investigate what is really under the hood of the term innovation. Perhaps we can restore the respect that real innovations (such as my dream car) deserve.
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I. The Correct Definition of Innovation
I have asked my magic mirror (aka scientific literature) to give me a well-substantiated definition of innovation. The good news is that the mirror found what I was looking for, but the bad news is that it found 62 diverse definitions! Rather than drowning in the sea of “correct” definitions, I’ll limit my discussion to the simplest definition as well as the most sophisticated one, in my humble opinion. The simple definition is from Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, which defines innovation as “the introduction of something new,” The more complex definition comes from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Oslo Manual 2005, which states, “An innovation is the implementation of a new or significantly improved product (good or service), a new process, a new marketing method, or a new organizational method in business practices, workplace organization, or external relations.” By the way, I discovered that the Global Innovation Index (GII), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and many governments in both developed and developing countries base their definitions of innovation-related terms on the OECD’s manuals and guides.
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II. It Must Be Novel
It’s clear that both of the above definitions agree that something should not be labeled as an innovation unless it is different from what already exists in the relevant context, whether it is an organization, market, society, or even the entire world. In other words, an innovation must be novel to some extent.
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Novelty in the world of innovation has a spectrum of levels, ranging from incremental innovations, which involve small improvements to existing concepts, to radical innovations, which often result in breakthroughs. As an innovator, you don’t always need to achieve breakthroughs if you know the problem you need to solve and have some idea of the required solution (known problem–known solution). In such cases, you can adopt and adapt an existing solution to solve your problem, such as customizing existing AI tools to create dietary recipes for your restaurant, or modifying your current product or method to achieve a defined solution, such as replacing the material of a sofa with one that is cheaper and more durable. On the other hand, you may have a promising concept or technology on hand but not know how to leverage it (known solution–unknown problem). In such situations, you need to explore and experiment to find novel applications, such as using electromagnetic radiation for cooking via a microwave oven. Finally, when faced with complex problems without known solutions (known problem–unknown solution), as an innovator, you have no choice but to search for breakthroughs, as in the first development of vaccines to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. ??
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III. It Must Be Practical
A closer look at the OECD’s definition reveals another aspect of innovation: it must be practical. No one wants creative solutions that are undoable. A practical idea is one for which the necessary resources, including people and knowledge, have been identified. Regarding people, the OECD classifies innovations based on the divisions within an organization that should lead each category. Specifically, the OECD specifies five categories of innovation:
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From the names of these five categories, an organization can determine which team should lead each innovation project.
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Regarding identifying the required knowledge for executing innovations, I have conducted some research and have categorized innovative ideas based on their scientific sources:
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If you’re not overwhelmed by the information I’ve rained on you so far, you might recall the three creative examples I mentioned at the beginning of this article: the autonomous car, playing chess as a service, and the hybrid entertainment show. Now, we can understand that all of them satisfy the conditions of novelty and practicality for innovation and belong to the categories of technological, managerial, and cultural innovations, respectively. However, be aware that it’s uncommon to find an innovation that fits only in one category (either the OECD’s classifications or mine), as most innovative concepts, perhaps the most successful ones, combine ideas and elements from more than one of the above categories. ?
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IV. It Must Be Beneficial
But wait! We have not yet reached the end of our investigative trip. The novelty condition alone would challenge the statement made by the author of the quote I started this article with, who happens to be autonomous car pioneer Elon Musk. Moreover, adding the second condition, practicality, would not be enough to impress Elon, as the word better in his quote points to something related to the outcomes of innovations. Thus, the third condition is the necessity of being beneficial. It makes sense to say that if a new idea isn’t expected to deliver greater benefits than the existing one, it’s not truly an innovation; it’s just a waste of time and resources. Building on this, I feel that the benefits of innovations can be grouped into two categories: commercial benefits, which directly or indirectly benefit the innovator or the shareholders of the innovating company, and social benefits, which benefit stakeholders and society as a whole. In my book, Social Innovation Ambassadors: The Practical Guide, I use these two categories of benefits to differentiate between business innovation and social innovation. When engaged in business innovation, innovators tend to prioritize commercial benefits over social ones in their strategic priorities, whereas they prioritize social benefits over commercial ones when engaged in social innovation. This difference in prioritization becomes evident when making critical decisions during the innovation process.
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V. Final Thoughts
If you are still not sure which products; processes; or marketing, organizational, or strategic ideas qualify as innovations, look for novelty, practicality, and promised benefits. Therefore, if you encounter a claimed innovation that is not different from existing ones (e.g., a process of turning soil and water into mud), not doable (e.g., a process of turning soil into brilliant diamonds), or not beneficial (e.g., a process of turning brilliant diamonds into soil), then ask it politely to step away from the Innovation Land.