idea

I’ve studied innovation quite a bit over the last several years.  In my work at RightNow, as well as my current mentoring with entrepreneurs, I often see confusion between “ideas” and “innovations.”  Conversations frequently conclude with something like, “… and that is my idea, what do you think?” Most of the time I respond, “Interesting idea, go see if you can make something of it.”

Here is what Miguel de Icaza, the founder of the GNOME and Mono projects, said:

“Are ideas innovations?  Everyone has ideas.  Every day you go to lunch, every day you are taking a shower, every day you are walking alone and thinking you are having new ideas. 

 You can have a million ideas, and these might be innovative, but if they do not reach the world, did they matter?

 For an idea or an innovation to a have a practical effect, they need to go beyond the discussion at the lunch table with your friends and become a reality.”

I couldn’t agree more!  Innovations could be defined as ideas implemented.  Failure of an idea is acceptable (and should be a badge of honor); not acting on a great idea is not acceptable.  Not looking for innovative ideas is laziness.  With the ability to innovate comes responsibility; you must undertake to implement your idea.

Innovation is not bound by the workplace.  From the way you manage your money, to the way you raise your kids, to the route you drive to the grocery store, innovation can take place to better serve you or the people with whom you are interacting.

“With the ability to innovate comes responsibility; you must undertake to implement your idea.”

In business, few things could be more important to long-term success than innovation – it must be woven into the very fabric of the culture.  In the next few blog entries I am going to share some of my reflections on innovation and how one might instill it into a company culture.

Remember innovations could be defined as ideas implemented; ideas by themselves are of no effect.  Stay tuned for more thoughts, and in the meantime, how do you define innovation?