True Innovation defined

Finding solutions to real problems

Ideas, Invention, Ideation, Innovation??? Are these words not overused and downgraded to buzzwords? Does 'innovation' only relate to products and services or is it applicable to other areas of our working environment - and even to our personal lives?

TRUE INNOVATION defines 'Innovation' as the realisation of new ideas; specifically, solutions to issues that turn conceptual ideas into beneficial realities. Innovation is basically an applied solution to an existing problem. This can relate to any improvement created for or by the organisation: a new product, a process, a way of working, employee engagement and so forth. The novelty of an innovation may relate to the organisation itself, but may also be completely new to the entire world. Put into a simple formula, Innovation is defined like this:

INNOVATION = (IDEA GENERATION) * (IDEA CONVERSION)

Please note: should the value of either variable equal zero, the total equation will equal zero!

Apart from being a simple while powerful definition, this formula enables us to introduce key measures and performance indicators into the innovation process by assessing both, Idea Generation and Idea Conversion.

Innovation though is not taking place in a vacuum; there is a context in which organisations innovate or struggle to do so, as laid out in the 'True Innovation Model'.