This will be the first of several blogs dealing with this topic…
Innovation – The introduction of something new and different.
If you think about it, innovation is in the eyes of the buyer. If buyers perceive your product as something new and different [iPhone, iPad, etc] then it is innovative. The Edsel was new and different, but wouldn’t qualify as innovative.
An innovation ecosystem
In the last 30 years or so, we have gone from timeshare mainframes to desktops and back to timeshare mainframes in the cloud. By the time someone understands what this all means, it has changed again. Technology is changing constantly – is there even such a thing as an innovation ecosystem?
How would you put in place an innovation ecosystem?
One pundit says that there are 4 major components to an innovation ecosystem: Product, Process, Organization and Market. This may not be THE answer, but it is something people can work with.
Let’s look at Apple – arguably a successful innovator.
They certainly have the products [I contend that their core competency is packaging]. They have processes in place that reward innovation. At an organization level, everyone at the company supports innovation in some way. They are in a market that rewards innovation handsomely.
Apple’s reward is that the public perceives their products as innovative. This allows them to charge a premium. At the same time, their customers will stand in line to purchase the first one and Apple will sell millions.
The Take Away…
Innovative products allow you to receive a premium price. Let’s look at some things you could do to put an innovation ecosystem in place – starting next week with the market…
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