An invention is the action of inventing something, typically a process or device. Innovation is how we apply an invention for the motive of delivering and creating value to customers. Developing the best solution is not innovation, it is about developing an entire business model, that is repeatable and scalable, that is innovation.
99 percent of new ideas fail because we, as entrepreneurs, hastily obsess with our inventions or solutions we have identified for our target customer groups. As we discover a solution we spend excessive amounts of time planning and developing our solution or pursuing funding for our idea, in order for us to get everything we need to construct our solution. And in the end, 99 percent of startups fail to build a product that anybody wants, after spending weeks, months and sometimes years of time, money and resources in doing so.
This is the old way of doing things and if you are lucky it might sometimes work. This outdated process to starting an enterprise: is to build a product, construct a team, market your solution, get funding and then see if anybody wants what you have.
The new way is a disciplined process and approach to try and convert your potential solutions into innovations. At this point in time, we are situated in a fast-paced environment where technology is constantly advancing, and globalization is increasing. This means that competition is increasing, customer expectations are more demanding, and disruptions in the economy are more likely to occur. For a startup, a business or an organization to realize innovation, it should be able to adapt and innovate to the changing trends and new generations. Innovations apply for management and organizations on all levels, sizes and in operating in all industries. In this new era, the only way to ensure you build what customers wanted is to continually engage with them.
Innovation today is speed of learning and being able to outlearn your competition in a faster and better way. If a business can learn how to create an entire working business model, not just the best solution or business plan, it can outlearn and outperform the competition and be continually learning, adapting and evolving as it repeatedly engages with its customers by following the Customer Development Process. This is because customers today have a lot more choices than they did before. If they don’t get what they want from your product, they simply change to something else. Businesses can therefore start building products and business models that best suit their target customer groups, based on their customer feedback, which helps businesses to repeatedly be building, testing and either be pivoting or continuing with their current strategy.
The faster companies can learn quickly, outlearn their competition and build what customers really want, the quicker innovation will take place. If they do this around the clock, and maintain close connection to their customers, they will witness their business models grow and succeed.
Jason Newmark
Jason is the Founder of The New Mark Group, Co-founder of Mompreneurs & Managing Director of Future Proof Western Cape. He is a winner of the award-winning Mnet show ‘Shark Tank’ and has over a dozen published articles and features regularly in entrepreneurial magazines, events, radio and podcasts.