Skip Header Navigation

Next Great Innovator > Blog

Text size: NormalLargeExtra Large

Blog

« Welcome to the 2008 Next Great Innovator Challenge! | Main | The Challenge is revealed! »

The Challenge is closer…

In only 1 week we’ll unveil the challenge for this year’s RBC Next Great Innovator Challenge. It’s great to see people dropping by the website this early to check out the new features we’ve added and begin to prepare to tackle the new Challenge. Be sure to come back on Monday Sept. 17th for the unveiling!

Just to get you all thinking about innovation I thought I would share a very simple meme I came across in my regular newsfeeds on innovation. This was originally published by Don The Idea Guy as part of his blog, at dontheideaguy.com. Innovation crucial these days but it is a kind of “slippery fish”; hours and hours can be consumed debating a definition, the function (or functions) of innovation and how to measure the effect of or return on innovation- the latter being a very hot topic right now. But regardless of where innovation takes you and what it can produce it has to start on a solid foundation of thoughtful (if not inspired) inquiry. Think about applying Don’s outline to your next opportunity for innovation:

• The six most important words for innovation: "This process really drives me crazy!"
• The five most important words for innovation: "Why do it this way?"
• The four most important words for innovation: "What do you think?"
• The three most important words for innovation: "What if we..."
• The two most important words for innovation: "Why not?"
• The one most important word for innovation: "How?"

As a parting note I’ll leave you with another insight from one of my inspirations, the great Peter Drucker. On Innovation, Drucker said: “Marketing and innovation are the two chief functions of business. You get paid for creating a customer, which is marketing. And you get paid for creating a new dimension of performance, which is innovation.”

Posted by Timothy H. on September 10, 2007 12:22 PM

Comments (1)

Michel Savoie :

Great post Timothy! All too often when people think of innovation, they think of fixing something that is broken, and this really shows that it doesn't have to be broken to make it better! Congratulations on the launch!

Posted by Michel Savoie

Post a comment






Submitted comments must relate to the RBC Next Great Innovator Challenge. All comments will be reviewed and only approved comments will be posted. HTML is not allowed. Comments that include personal attacks on RBC or RBC Employees or other participants in this forum, make obviously false or unsubstantiated allegations, or include vulgar or libelous language, will not be approved. Posted comments are the views of the individual author and not of Royal Bank of Canada. By submitting a comment, you agree to be bound by the Terms of the Innovator Blog.