You Don’t Have to Invent to Innovate: Becoming a Dot Connector

You’ve seen or heard me say something about innovating versus inventing multiple times in the last few years. Why am I so keen on it? Because though we all might not have the “inventor gene,” all of us are capable of looking at an existing concept, technology, or product differently, and using it to create some pretty amazing solutions, or perhaps more importantly, using them to iterate solutions for real problems.?

Think of innovations as continual upgrades and smart applications.? Steve Jobs was famous for this. ?He didn’t invent the mouse - it was invented at Xerox Labs - but he made it more usable and found a practical use for it on the original Mac.? The same thing is true for portable music devices. Sony made it popular with the Walkman, and Steve understood that a digital flash drive would revolutionize a device like that. He? made it more useful again, and then created a whole ecosystem that supported the digitization of entertainment at scale.?? I can keep going…

Apple innovated smartphones with touchscreen interfaces and user-friendly apps, replacing or duplicating things like cameras, watches, calendars, alarm clocks, voice recorders and such. Tesla innovated the electric car with longer battery lives and autonomous driving. They pushed the market, and created an environment where other manufacturers followed suit, accelerating the design and acceptance of e-cars by years.? All innovation on the original invention – and we’ll continue to see upgrades and improvements.?

I like the term “innovator” when it’s applied to me. But I see it as something fundamental we can all do: connect the dots. We look at how to solve problems by connecting what’s next and making it possible.??

This is the kind of thinking that puts power in the hands of the user. It’s all about quality and scale: looking at what’s most important, or identifying what’s slowing or stopping people from using a service, technology, or product. That’s how to get the best outcome. And it always comes from being curious and open to change, considering what could be next, and most of all, understanding a problem or opportunity that can be solved or improved where it matters.?

I’ve had some advantages in thinking this way. I’ve spoken before about being an only child, and how some of that solitude was spent in figuring out how things work. My own children have been exceptional teachers, too – they’re all great at this, and I’m lucky to be exposed to what they’re seeing, learning and using.

Working for a company that supports my intrapreneurial leanings and constant attention to transformation metrics (the KPIs used to measure the success of a digital transformation initiative), and living and working in the heart of the Silicon Valley is a benefit as well, because I’m walking among people in the tech and VC world who think about this every day.?

But while all that helps me to see where the dots connect, it’s so possible for anyone to do so without prior experience or a tech environment.??

Innovations don’t have to be revolutionary ideas that take the world by storm. Sometimes they’re small, incremental improvements that make the end use experience so much better. Who envisioned wheels on suitcases? An innovator, not the suitcase inventor! They solved a problem and improved a familiar product.?

That familiarity is part of the equation, too – it’s easier and faster for a market to adopt incremental changes to things or concepts that are already embraced by users. (And there’s less cost and risk for research and development, market education and introduction, too.)??

The truth is, once we have curated the products we like, we automatically start thinking of how to leverage those existing resources for a better outcome. How we can customize; offer better functionality, convenience, and accessibility; how we can make them better for us and our own market.?

I think the other key to doing this more than once is knowing when to stop; knowing when it’s too early or it’s not going to work.?

It doesn’t always work when you want it to.? Many times, especially in my early career, I started piloting ideas and concepts that were ahead of their time, only to see others bring them to market in a better, more sound state many years later.? Timing is everything, right??

Knowing how to not risk it all can earn you the trust of others when it comes to innovating.? (I do recognize that there are many who have changed the world by refusing to lose and have invented the new, the? provocative and the truly revolutionary.? My hat is off to them, and I stand in awe.)

Some people call it innovation. And some call it connecting the dots.

Maybe start with what would make your life better.? That’s what I did.

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