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Innovation and Technology
Many of the reviews of Apple’s iPhone announcement last week described it as innovative. Apple has been at the front of the pack of companies producing innovative products, and they’ve celebrated their success and focus on innovation as part of their Think Different marketing campaign. Apple’s innovative technology products combine excellent design, usability and simplicity.
Businesses are siezing on innovation as a road to competitive advantage, not only for technical innovation, but also innovation of business processes and business models. Many vendors see competitive advantage in how they can package and deliver their retained knowledge by providing specialized/innovative services and consulting.
Inventor and innovator Dean Karmen spoke at an NI Week conference about the process of invention and innovation. Karmen is famous as the inventor of the Segway motorized walker but he has also made many, perhaps more significant, innovations such as the Autosyringe and a portable dialysis machine.
In his keynote speech, Karmen outlined his “Rude Realities of Innovation”:
- Great technology alone rarely constitutes innovation
- Risk, failure and unpredictability are unavoidable
Falling behind early is good, because you have more time to catch up - Solving the solution is often the problem
- Innovation is often not inhibited by what you don’t know — it’s what you know that isn’t true.
- Innovation in a company should not be a spectator sport. Everyone should be involved.
- To err is to be human, but it’s not company policy.
- Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful individuals can change the world. It’s the only thing that ever has.
Karmen comments that both pessimists and optimists can be innovators: optimists think about airplanes and pessimists think about parachutes. The key is to be enthusiastic.
