Innovation is a discipline

1% inspiration, 99% perspiration.

This was the guidance my chemistry teacher gave me when I finished Year 10 and moving into making bigger decisions about career and next steps. At that time, I considered it to be a nice chemical equation. Over time, I realised the value of it.

The magical eureka moment fills our mind when we talk about innovation. However, innovation is actually not about just the first initial idea. Innovation is many things and in many areas.

Doblin has a great way to talk about innovation. This is their approach to the various kinds of innovation you can create in any organisation. Lot more than ideas.

Innovation at its core is a discipline.

Drucker in the Discipline of Innovation in HBR

Because innovation is both conceptual and perceptual, would-be innovators must also go out and look, ask, and listen. Successful innovators use both the right and left sides of their brains. They work out analytically what the innovation has to be to satisfy an opportunity. Then they go out and look at potential users to study their expectations, their values, and their needs.

Drucker lays out the entire framework for Innovation. Look outside — look, ask and listen. Importantly, work out analytically. And then look for potential users to study and test with them. We will discuss all that and more in terms of approaches and tools as we go forward.

All of this is work. It’s hard work. You can call it execution. You can all it implementation. The point is that innovation is only realised when the ideas become real, and ideas across the 10 types don’t come easily. They come from both left and right brain.

Let’s explore more on innovation in the coming weeks. Share your experiences and stories, and discuss here.

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Reader Pointers:

• "Which type of innovation from the Dublin model do you think is most relevant to your organisation?"

• "What are some challenges you've faced in implementing a disciplined approach to innovation?"

• "What tools or techniques have you found helpful in generating and executing innovative ideas?"