Ideas are always a creative response to a problem without a present-day solution. People dream them up as the wonder what they might do to solve their problems, and they draw on inspirations from their environments around them to do so. What people forget is that neither their problems, nor the inspirations from which they draw solutions, are exclusively theirs. Everyone else is likely to face almost the same challenges. And they'll certainly come up with similar solutions.
This, more than any other reason, is why you often see the same idea surfacing in two or more places at once, even when the creative people proposing the solution don't know each other at all.
It seems logical to conclude, given this, that if you want to increase the success of your innovation efforts, getting more ideas will probably not have the result you're looking for.
Many people argue that what is actually needed is a systematic process which allows creative people to generate a track record of big product hits. This follows from the fact that it isn't ideas which are important to the innovation process, but the execution which follows them. Clearly, there are limited resources available in any organisation, so focussing on big ideas must be a good idea.
This, of course, is the strategy that's been followed by Apple, and other companies of its ilk. First, it released iPod, a massive hit that redefined the way that music is sold. Then it sold iPhone, which makes the name of the game in telephony about Apps, rather than features. And recently, it's released iPad, which it hopes will redefine the way customer acquire and use the products of the liberal arts.
None of these products are especially innovative, and they certainly aren't category unique. It is hard to say they are, by themselves, innovative. But they are designed beautifully, and each has built its success on the last.
This, in the end, is the real sign that a company has a successful innovation effort under way.
Would you like to create a track record of hit products? The easiest way to do it is create an innovation program with laser-sharp focus on what works. James Gardner's free online innovation book will help you start.
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