Igniting the possibility innovation brings to personal brands, human interactions and business models
For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate.
Margaret Heffernan
Too stagnant. Too stressed. Both are states people and businesses face throughout the life-cycle of a career or venture. Stagnation occurs when there is a loss of energy, momentum or inspired action. Stress occurs when there is a loss of focus, boundaries or clear vision. An innovation lens can brings shifts from both states by using a value-based framework.
Innovation saturation is close in some circles and yet to emerge in others. The word has been used relentlessly in some business communities and hardly given a second thought in others. The true nature and essence of innovation is, in it’s simplest terms, to provide more value. That value may come from improving a product or a process; merging a camera and a phone (product) with the ability to purchase it online rather than make a trip to the store (process). A new business model or position in the market (career market or economy); pay per item to a subscription business model (netflix) or
Stagnation both personally and professionally lacks the motivation to seek out improvement. Stress prevents us from seeing where value is, and comes from, losing sight of what we value, what others value and how we can uniquely deliver that value.
Inspired Innovation - Delivering New Forms of Value
The Process of Innovation moves through 6 phases.
Identifying opportunities to deliver new or more value, in better and easier ways
Evaluating those opportunities for a best-fit against the skills, talents, resources and strengths available to you
Improving by seeking feedback from others, possibly experts, on the way you will create and deliver the value
Getting confirmation that yes, in fact this is valuable! When can I have it? Seeking out those you will deliver the value to.
Create the value, following through on that confirmation by building, changing, shifting, working with others, collaborating, joining
Delivering it, getting to the people who are waiting for it, wanting it.
Use the Process of Innovation to move you or your business from stagnation or stress to focused momentum. For example
Opportunities - locate and identify opportunities to improve.
Stagnant - what do people/clients/society really want, what do they appreciate and value? What problems are they having and how can I, or our business, uniquely solve them?
Stressed - what am I/we/society doing that doesnt add any value, that we’re doing because we think we have to or are just in the habit of, get rid of anything that doesn’t create value.
Innovation fails when we dont appreciate it’s simplicity, and the power in that. Over-engineering value creation and delivery removes the joy, energy and delight in the innovation process and the feedback we get from it’s outcomes for others. At the heart of great business, societies and the human condition is a the ability to utilise what we uniquely do well, naturally, even easily, to create and deliver new ways of living, working and being that improve our experiences, those we love and the greater good of humanity. The framework, interaction based on value and focus prevents this.
What might you do to re-align your life, business or brand through an inspiring lens of innovation? Where do you naturally create the most value, uniquely suited to you. What does the world need from you or your business most?
Books aligned with this topic
frugal Innovation - how to do more with less
social physics - how good ideas spread, the lessons from a new science
business model innovation - the business model navigator