Thomas OtterIn this interview on the O’Reilly blog Scott Berkun nails it.
How do you define "innovation"?
Scott Berkun: I strongly recommend people use this word as little as possible. It’s mostly a distraction. Many great ideas and breakthroughs were achieved without people worrying if they were innovative enough or not. They simply chose to try and solve a problem they or their customers cared about. And then later on, after the hard work was done, they were called "innovators." It’s a good word to let other people say about you, rather than use it in reference to yourself.
His book, The Myths of Innovation is a sharp, if short read. This quote encourages me to re-read it.
Category: books innovation measurement software industry Tags: Berkun, books, innovation
2 responses so far ↓
1 Mark August 29, 2010 at 7:54 pm
Thomas – Good quote from Berkun. The real value is in the solution and that’s what people want. I’d add that to really warrant the label “innovation” it should be a solution not encountered or considered before. At that point, the label starts to become somewhat more useful, a la “Innovator’s Dilemma/Solution”, et al, as the new approach is often either not possible or inconceivable to the incumbent.
Myths of Innovation is a terrific book.
Mark
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