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It’s no coincidence this competition is called the Next Great Innovator Challenge, since innovation is really what it’s all about. So what do we mean by innovation?

Well, if you ask ten different people what innovation means, you’re likely to receive ten different answers. It’s not all that complicated, but people are passionate about the details. I’m not about to settle the finer points here, but I will highlight a couple of the defining elements.

The first is that innovation implies something new. In business, some argue whether this means new to the company, new to the industry, or new to the world. I say they’re all innovative, but to varying degrees. New to the company might not get a lot of people excited, but it’s still a good thing. New to the industry is better, and of course, new to the world is best.

However, being new is not enough. In order to be innovative, ideas must also provide benefits over and above the status quo. In other words, ideas must be new…and improved. Organizations don’t do radical things for the sake of being new – they do them for the sake of being better. One of my favourite sports innovations illustrates the point.

At the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, American high jumper Dick Fosbury astonished the world, capturing the gold medal with a revolutionary back-to-the-bar technique. Prior to that, most high jumpers used the straddle or belly-roll method, clearing the bar with lead arm and leg, and rolling over facedown. Within a few years, the “Fosbury Flop” became the standard technique employed by high jumpers the world over. Fosbury’s technique was innovative, because it enabled him to jump higher and win on the world stage. Had he used the technique and finished in the middle of the pack, it would have been new, but that’s about all.

Posted by Nelson T. on November 10, 2006 11:41 PM

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