Many people think of innovation as a moment of inspiration that comes in a creative culture or to a creative person. There is a belief that a shift in culture will mean at least some departure from the rigid processes and systems in their organization or that a lone innovator must be allowed to live outside the culture. Perhaps these perceptions exist because there is one type of innovation that gets the most attention; while the other types of innovation, that are less sexy, go largely uncelebrated.

As a student of innovation, I believe that a deeper understanding of the values of business innovation will drive a systematic approach. And the secrets of profitable innovation can be unlocked as you come to understand more about it.

In the upcoming weeks and months, we will be doing a deep dive into innovation, sharing best practices and thoughts on this subject and exploring how you can systematically implement business innovation into your organization.

Step One: Understanding the types of Innovation

Over twenty years ago, the father of modern management, Peter Drucker, described seven sources of innovation, as he talked about The Discipline of Innovation. As enlightening as these were, they were simple timeless truths that had only been rediscovered for a new generation. Drucker’s seven were as follows: Unexpected Occurrences, Incongruities, Process Needs, Industry and Market Changes, Demographic Changes, Changes in Perception and New Knowledge. These fundamental sources help stratify innovation in to some broad categories that can help demystify its secrets.

Taking a deeper look at each one

Unexpected Occurrences often we look at something not going as planned as a failure. If we take a deeper look, we can learn and perhaps even turn the failure into a success.
Incongruities this can be between economic realities, customer expectations, or the logic of a system.

Process Needs a need for a systematic approach to doing a series of tasks.

Industry and Market Changes these shifts occur more frequently today then when Drucker first penned them and simply refer to structural changes in the market.

Demographic Changes perhaps the most reliable place for innovation, this simply refers to trends such as we see with Boomers moving into retirement.

Changes in Perception more elusive and more difficult to predict, these perceptions can be profitable as you stay in tune with the voice of your customer.

New Knowledge – perhaps the Holy Grail of innovation and the most recognized, but the least predictable. Even after discovery, these changes can take a lot of time and resources to convert into profitable opportunities.

While these are not the only sources or types of innovation, they are a good starting point for our journey.

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