Demystify Innovation — What You've Been Wrong About Being Innovative

The word "innovation" is a powerful and important keyword in human life. In fact, innovation drives the evolution of this world. It is super important for making things happen in today's fast-changing world. I bet you might hear about it every day, people say: "You need to be innovative!", "Our company needs to innovate!", "Innovate or die!", "We are the most innovative company in the industry".

Innovation is often known as a big yet complex keyword. We might have different opinions of what the word means. Sometimes it's easily misunderstood. Sometimes the word innovation is used interchangeably with the keywords “creativity” or “invention”.

As young professionals who just started a career in a company, you might be expected to innovate. You are needed to make an innovation in the company. Or you are a business owner in a competitive industry. You need to lead your team to innovate or your product/service will be ignored. How would you do that? Just doing your work as business as usual, will not help you much to innovate, without understanding the real meaning of innovation.

By dispelling the myths and misconceptions around innovation, we can foster a better understanding of its core meaning and how it happens. When we have a clear picture of a destination, it's easier to find ways to go there.

In this article, I filter out the most common myths around innovation. Let's jump in!

Myth #1 - Being creative means being innovative

Being creative does not necessarily mean being innovative. We oftentimes use the word "innovative" interchangeably with the word "creative". Actually, they are not the same. This could mislead our understanding of innovation. Some companies or individuals would think that they are innovative, otherwise they're just being creative.

Being creative means you can generate fresh ideas, connect dots from different fields, and come up with a new idea. You might come up with a uniquely brand-new method or approach. The output of creativity is something new and different. Creative individuals would have richer imaginations and be exposed to varied experiences, that would help them generate new ideas. At this point you are not innovating yet, you are just being creative. By the way, I will dedicate another article to demystify the keyword "creativity".

Being innovative requires another level of work than just being creative. Being innovative means you take the idea and implement it, and here is the important part, you need to make sure that, that creative idea or product adds value to its user. This process requires you to experiment with the real user of your product or service. You need to apply and do trial and error to make it useful, and drive positive change to its user. Values are perceived by the user, not by the producer. So as the producer of that creative idea, you cannot fabricate its values, your users are the judges.

Being innovative also requires effort to not just apply that creative ideas, but also think about how to make it sustainable. So it's not just about those creative ideas, it is also about the implementation of the idea and how it's gonna last in the user's hand, tested over time.

Once it sustains, innovation is also able to change the way people do something. It sets a new standard. It transforms the way people usually see or do things because your product is so innovative, people are willing to change their behaviors because they follow your approach.

Anyone can create something new and different, but not all can turn it into an innovation. An innovative product/service/process should solve a problem, or improve one’s life, either the user or the maker.

Coming up with a brand new “out-of-the-box” name for the menu in your restaurant, that is different from other restaurants, is a creative act. But it is not an innovation, because the new menu name doesn’t add any significant value to the customer. But if you can come up with a new menu system that could help customers identify how it's cooked and imagine the taste for example, and customers love it, and it inspires other restaurants to follow your system, now that is an innovation.

Being creative is important to be innovative, but being innovative is far from just being creative, it requires thoughtful implementation, and adding value. That's our myth number one.

Next time if you come up with creative ideas or products, ask yourself to push them to innovation level: does it solve a problem? does it solve my problem? do others need to know this? would it be beneficial for others too? what if others adopt your ideas or product? If it got many “Yeses” then you might be close to an innovation.

Myth #2 - Innovation has to be a new invention

Anything new, is invented. Just like “not everything new is an innovation”; an invention is not necessarily an innovation. Innovations may not always result in the creation of something entirely new but rather in the enhancement or evolution of existing solutions. Anything new does not necessarily add value to its user. For example, Xiaomi or Microsoft could invent a new model of smartphone, but as long as “it's just another smartphone”, then it is not an innovation.

Some inventions could lead to innovation with the right strategies, but not all. Take the iPod for example, at the same time, the invention of the iPod innovated the way people play music. To support and complete the innovation, Apple also introduced iTunes which disrupts the music industry, bringing the the idea of having 1000 songs in your pockets. It is something people never thought of before. It added value, especially for iPod users. That strategy made the innovation successful.

Knowing this difference is important so that you can manage your expectations. Do you expect to just invent a new thing or to innovate? Do not get into the trap and false claim.

Innovation can happen by simply tweak or improve the current product or service. iPad turned out to be a successful innovation by using the technology behind the iPhone model and making the screen larger and a stronger processor. That’s it. But it finds its user needs.

Myth #3 - Innovation is complex and expensive

Moving from the previous point, understanding that innovation requires more effort than just being creative, sometimes it could also mislead us to think that innovation is complex yet expensive to do.

About the complexity myth, once you understand the nature of innovation, it would be clear that we can foster innovation with clear frameworks. It's not something vague or mysterious process. For example, I love the “Invention Cycle” framework by Tina Seelig; to innovate you start by enriching your imagination by exposing yourself to lots of new experiences, and then you connect those imaginations and the knowledge so that it becomes your source of creativity, then you innovate, focus to make sure the tangible product or service tackles needs, solves problem or brings out unexploited opportunities, then you go into the entrepreneurship state. You can learn more about it in her book: “Creative Rules: Get Ideas Out of Your Head and into the World.” Clearly, you can see that there are steps to achieve innovation.

There are already lots of popular frameworks to approach innovation, such as the classic one Design Thinking, Business Model Canvas as a tool to making sure your product or service has value, Blue Ocean Strategy, 10X Thinking popularized by Google’s “Moonshot Thinking”, Lean Startup Methodology that focusing on rapid experimentation and iterative product development, Innovation Ambition Matrix that helps organizations assess and prioritize their innovation initiatives, and many more. You can choose to experiment with one of these popular frameworks that suit your organization's needs.

Next, let's talk about the price. Innovation is not limited to those with extensive resources. In the context of an organization or a business, there are lots of simple and low-cost innovation opportunities that we might overlook. Innovation doesn’t have to be BIG to make a difference. The more important aspect of innovation is the creative minds behind it, not the expensive tools or resources.

I bet you agree that “QR Code” (Quick Response Code) is an innovation. It was a creative idea that popped out inside the head of Masahiro Hara, from the need to track automobile parts during its assembly process, inspired by the game Go. It was developed back in 1994 by the Japanese corporation Denso Wave—a division of Denso, which is a subsidiary of the automobile company Toyota Motor Corporation. QR Code becomes popular when cellphones include cameras because camera is the perfect technology for reading QR Code. The usage skyrocketed when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. With the world urgently seeking contactless solutions, QR codes emerged as the perfect answer. They're simple to create and maintain, and nearly everyone has a phone equipped with QR scanning capabilities. Suddenly, tasks like dining out or making purchases became touch-free experiences, minimizing the risk of germ transmission. Have you ever wondered how much the cost was needed to make QRCode technology? A development team with only two members.

After demystifying its complexity and expensiveness, it’s also important to know that the innovation process also comes with risk. Nothing great comes without risk. If it's not managed properly, you can end up with wasted products/services, and lots of wasted energy and resources. This is why you need to select innovative frameworks that can help you minimize the risk. Start small, test it out, improve, then keep iterating.

Myth #4 - Innovation has to be a product

Innovation can be intangible. It could be an innovative process, strategy, system, framework, business model, or innovative experience/services. It doesn’t have to be a product.

The “franchise” business model is an innovation invented in the 18th century.

A “subscription-based model” in payment is also an innovation. Netflix was one of the pioneers in popularizing the modern subscription-based model.

Think about a small barbershop that offers massage service after the cut. It’s one of the innovative strategies that the customers find valuable.

Innovation could be in any form because all aspects of our life could be innovated.

Myth #5 - Innovation is about technology

If you agree that innovation does not have to be tangible, then it's easier to demystify the myth that said that innovation always requires the latest state-of-the-art technologies.

Simple ideas, the right execution, iterated user testings, good collaboration, and enough resources, are more than enough to make innovation happen. It's not so much about big technologies. Even for tech companies, the technology itself is only the product, it relies back to the creative minds behind the organization.

Not including AI in your product doesn’t mean you are not innovating.

Instead, focus on improving your mindset, critical thinking, questioning skills, your approaches to problem-solving, those are the keys to an innovative mind.

Myth #6 - Innovation is only for big companies

What about small companies? or individual level?

When you know that innovation is not about the resources, the expensive resources, or the latest technologies, then you know that innovation can happen in any size of organization, even individual level.

When you trace back an innovation, the seed took place in the mind of the individual. The idea was sparked by a single mind, then it was collaborated with other minds, it was being shipshape, then made its debut to the world.

Lots of innovative companies started with humble beginnings. A company could become big because of its innovation. But before that, they were just small teams. Take Airbnb for example. Airbnb was founded by only three individuals: Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk. Three people!

Think about how Jeff Bezos innovated the online shop experience alone at his small desk.

My blog speaks about being creative and innovative, not just for an organization but also at the individual level. I believe if you are innovative and creative as an individual, you can spark others at the level of a team/organization.

Myth #7 - Innovation is solely the result of individual genius and brilliance

To make the innovation happen, need to allow someone else to build upon your idea. You need to share the idea and get feedback. An innovative product or service requires the work of a team behind it. The more creative minds are involved, the better the innovation. The bigger the challenge, the bigger the creative minds are needed.

Think about the innovation of the iPhone. While Steve Jobs is often credited as the visionary behind the iPhone, its creation was the result of collaboration among a team of engineers, designers, marketers, and executives at Apple.

Another example is the innovation of the polio vaccine. While Dr. Salk is widely recognized for his role in creating the first effective polio vaccine, the development of the vaccine was not solely the work of one individual. It involved collaboration among a team of scientists, researchers, and medical professionals.

You could make a difference by yourself, but you could make a significant innovation with a collaboration of creative minds.

Those are seven popular myths around the keyword “innovation”.

I love to learn while I’m writing. During the writing of this article, I gained a deeper insight into the concept of innovation, thus enhancing my understanding of it. Sometimes, I say “Let's innovate!”, but actually what I mean is “Let's be creative!”. Now I know the difference.

By reading this post might not instantly make you an innovative person, but at least you know better about your destination: to be an innovative person/organization. A better understanding of it enables us to make it happen. For someone who is afraid to innovate, now you know that there are frameworks made to make innovation happen.

Remember, we (human) are natural innovators; because nature will always push us to innovate. But don’t wait for Mother Nature to wake you up, because the one who is first to innovate wins the benefits.