IIIP's Definition of Innovation

Michael LoBue writes:  Thanks to IIIP's Academic Advisors we have an Instittue working definition of innovation:

"Innovation is imaginative activity fashioned so as to produce outcomes that are both original and of commercial value"

We welcome comments and feedback on this definition.

Comments

[Jim Slaby]

How about taking a blue pen to it, thus:

Innovation is imaginative activity that produces outcomes that are both original and of commercial value.

[Shailesh Naik]

Innovation is a process ( may seem imaginative to some but very obvious to others) so as to produce outcomes that are original, great copies ( from other or smae industry) and of commercial value

[Daniel W Rasmus]

Octavio Ballesta wrote: In my opinion, innovation is the art of creating something new from nothing known; innovation is the stake of defying dogmas, policies and prejudices that few visionaries assume as their own personal mantra; innovation is the human creativeness applied in the conception of a new idea, product, design or service, which does not know precedent or equivalent; innovation is the process of making improvements in products, processes or services by introducing something new.

I hope this helps you.

[Todd Siegel]

As a revision of that definition of innovation for the "business" domain:

the successful execution of an idea that is a novel incremental improvement (evolution), or a radical shift from established practice (revolutionary).

Such ideas that are widely use-able promote commercial exploitation.

[Carlos Alberto Espinosa Fernandez]

Carlos Alberto Espinosa Fernandez wrote: For me, basically, Innovation means to have the courage to leave a success business formula to embrace a new solution that nobody knows if it going to work or not.

Innovation is being one of the first to come, not then first, but the one.

Innovation is, as Porter said, a unique combination of Don'ts.

[Joy Montgomery]

A reasonable absence of fear of failure.

For people in the East Bay, near San Francisco, there is a very dynamic group of innovative people.

[Andy Yochum]

Innovation is the direct result of understanding your customers environment so well that you can accurately predict the challenges that will be presented down the road. Innovation answers the cusotmers needs for something better, faster, cheaper, or something that they don't even know they need yet. The innovator translates these needs into an actual product and makes someones life a little better.

[Jim Tudor]

Innovation is imagination captured and put to work. Every thing you see today was once impossible. Another way of putting it is innovation is dreamers becoming doers through the use of effective communication. Dreamers come up with great ideas but in order to make the ideas into reality it takes effective communication to sell the idea to others who will form a team that will be dedicated to making the dream into a product.

[Bill Pike]

I can see value in all the innovative definitions you have received thus far. Here is how I would define innovation:

"The unharnessed ability to continually generate new ideas or improve upon existing concepts, closely followed by the ability to migrate them into a practical setting so that they can be validated and applied."

I hope this is helpful.

[Eileen Bonfiglio]

Innovation may be described as recycling on a grand scale - taking what is already there and re purposing it in some way to make it new and better than before or have a new use entirely.

Eileen

[Phil Lawson]

I am surprised ... that people were not mentioned in the IIIP innovation definition.

Technology does not innovate, people do – at the very least it is people that innovatively design and create the technology that other people use to innovate process, procedures, activities, companies, industries, markets and the world.

In my work I have found innovation to be an emergent that comes from the unique 'shape' of complex adaptive systems, individuals or organizations. This is a key principle on which my company and its activities are based upon, explained in more detail in my book.

To better visualize the potential for innovation I have created a standardized, universally applicable tool that shows the shape of individuals and organizations which, among other things, provides insights into their innovation (or lack thereof).

Spherical
Phil

[Martin Schmalenbach]

Innovation was the subject of my MSc thesis, specifically, "A New Model For Workplace Innovation"

For the purposes of my research I defined innovation as "The deliberate application of novelty with the aim of benefiting the organisation (or individual)."

It's adapted from the work of Patterson, F (1999) "Innovation Potential Indicator" Oxford Psychologists Press, Oxford: UK

I think it complements the views of many previous replies: innovation is about process, it is the outcome of a process or processes, it can be emergent and at the same time directed. It differs from creativity yet it cannot exist without it.

My MSc thesis explored a new model of innovation for the workplace for 2 aims: to enable more innovation per se to take place in organisations, and to inform managers about how to manage different styles of innovator and individual - at the time I worked with Siemens, we had a large number of PhD employees and a large number of blue collar steel and aluminium fabricators - who all had to work together and innovate together, yet were fundamentally different in what they did and how they did it, including innovation.

An interesting thread!

Best wishes,

Martin

[Alorza]

"A innovation is a product or a service that is both original and of commercial value"
"Innovation (generic) is imaginative activity fashioned so as to produce outcomes that are both original and of commercial value"

I think it would be better if we had two differente words...

[Dr.pawandeep]

act me innovaton at work place is to innovating workers at work place .
to providing facilty to innovate them

[proquest digital dissertations]

Blogs are good for every one where we get lots of information for any topics nice job keep it up !!!