When a company is told, or realises, that it needs to reinvent itself, renew itself or innovate, it almost always reacts the same way, by thinking: “We need more ideas, new ideas.” Yet the lack of innovation often isn’t caused by a lack of ideas, but by a failure to recognise and back the ideas we already have.
There are plenty of examples. Microsoft was the first company to design the “tablet”, today’s iPad. Microsoft’s tablet didn’t fail for lack of an idea, because the idea was already there. It failed because the company didn’t push and work on that idea, which is exactly what the legendary Steve Jobs did.
Second example: Kodak’s research lab invented the first digital camera in 1975, but didn’t pursue the idea. Ironically, Kodak’s own invention nearly finished off the company, since its business was badly hit by digital cameras. (Read: The curious case of Kodak’s failure)
Third example: the first personal computer wasn’t Apple’s idea, nor did Apple build it first. It was invented and developed by Xerox, but Xerox didn’t invest enough to keep going with the idea and ended up listening to the people who said nobody would need a computer at home. Once again Steve Jobs entered the scene and gave the idea its shape.
That’s why we should reinvent the word innovation. Some say that to innovate is to copy and improve, and that’s probably a very apt definition. There were search engines before Google and social networks before Facebook. So it isn’t about racking your brains for new business ideas, but about looking at the many ideas and products that already exist without succeeding and finding a way to improve them until they do.
See also: Richard Branson: relax this summer, but don’t stop having great ideas
What does it take to innovate?
To innovate we need an idea (existing or not) and the creativity to improve it or adapt it to the right audience. We need to believe in the idea, back it and keep working on it until it comes close to perfection. And we need the right marketing strategy to bring it to the right audience, which today is easier and cheaper than ever thanks to the internet.
If we look at the 6 innovative businesses we published in a previous article, the truth is that we couldn’t really speak of originality (or perhaps we could), since there are similar ideas on the market, but for some reason (let’s call it creativity) they can seem very different from what already exists.
That’s why, as business owners, when we realise we need to innovate, before going outside in search of new ideas, take a look at your current business and think about how you can improve what you have, because that way you’re innovating.
Further reading
- 15 questions to evaluate a business idea
- Once you have the idea: 7 steps to define your market
- From idea to business in 11 steps
- 8 tips for starting a business from home
Featured image: The wub, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
