In pre-historic ages, humans had to constantly come up with
new ideas and methods that can help them survive. The
persistent need of improving whatever exists in order to survive
in a better way led to innovation.
Innovation occurs on various levels in our daily lives. It could
be the use of a new product which was innovated recently by
the manufacturers, or the use of a new method that makes it
easy to live life. Today, industries, companies and individuals
innovate on various levels to succeed in their objectives.
Different industries have different viewpoints regarding
innovation. There are over 40 different definitions of innovation
and every definition describes it according to the perspective of
the individual or group authoring the definition. But all of it
grinds to the fact that innovation happens when something new
comes into existence. It could be a thought, a process, a
method or a product. The thing with innovation is that it is
limitless and it does not restrict itself to certain aspects only.
Innovation has existed since the existence of humankind itself.
Humans have introduced different products, ideas and services
ever since they existed as hunters and gatherers. Whether it
was the invention of the first wheel, the ability to harvest grains
and turn it into the food we eat or use fire to cook;
everything required humans to come up with new ideas that
can improve their current standards of living. Now we are
dealing with innovation on a more complex level since we have
already reached a point where our basic needs are met very
effectively. This is why innovation has become so centric for
businesses and customers.
Introduction
What is innovation?
The meaning of innovation according to the Oxford dictionary
is, "Make changes in something established, especially by
introducing new methods, ideas or products". A number of
companies see innovation as just the ability to ideate. But the
truth is that it can be relatively cheap for a person or an
organization to come up with new ideas and techniques. It is
the ability of turning that idea into a solution which can add
value to the business that makes innovation possible.
Innovation for companies is also about staying relevant. We
innovate in order to stay abreast with the changing world. A
company that did extremely well when it started may gradually
end up losing its customer base if it decided not to innovate
and leverage new ideas. If something helped a company
succeed in the past, the same thing may lead to its failure in
the present.