Cheryl Perkins of Innovationedge on the Meaning of Innovation

When you think of innovation, do images of light bulbs pop into your head? In light of the latest mega-trends, that light bulb might not be the best marketing icon to promote forward-thinking companies.

Here's why: The light bulb that Americans have been using for 125-plus years will soon become obsolete; a relic of history.

The new energy bill passed earlier this year phases out traditional light bulbs over the next decade in favor of a new generation of energy-efficient compact fluorescents, LEDs, halogens and even light-emitting diodes that promise to last about 12 years.

You'll soon be using these lights in your homes, cars, electronic gadgets and flashlights.

So, if the old standard light bulb no longer conveys "innovation," what image can we use in its place? And what do we mean by innovation anyway?


Word to the Wise

"Innovation" is one of those mystifying words often brandished by executives as a weapon to prod their teams into producing the next bright idea. It's gotten to the point where many leaders don't have a clue about what innovation is or how to be innovative.

Innovation is a Latin word that comes from "novus,"  which means "new." If you're a corporation, innovation is about creating and delivering new and more effective products and services to your customers or consumers both better and sooner than your competitors. It makes you more cost-effective and resilient.

If you're a consumer -- and we all are -- innovation elevates your luxury status, infiltrates your shopping experiences, hastens the way you communicate with co-workers, friends and family, and even beautifies the design elements of your home, car and workplace. 

Innovation is all around us. Smart design touches everything from appliances to airplanes, leveraging integrated computer technology to guide us through new frontiers we couldn't have imagined just five years ago.

Presidential candidates are wooing our votes via YouTube. And our youth are plugged into a vast network of hundreds of friends through Facebook, a phenomenon that is leaving their unconnected baby boomer parents and grandparents in the virtual dust. 
What Makes us Tick

The driver of innovation is discovery. A true innovation affects people by changing their habits, by filling their unmet needs and by creating new industries or categories. And above all, innovation creates value to society.

Innovation is not a one-time event -- or at least it shouldn't be. Think of it like the cells in our bodies that constantly regenerate and renew. It has to be repeatable growth that sustains over time. Without it, there is stagnation and decline. Continuous innovation allows leaders to adapt to constantly-changing conditions and trends, whether those are positive or negative. Only after discovering these new insights are they able to design and deliver solutions that make our lives better.

Forward-thinking companies are doing that now. Consumer goods manufacturers, like The Procter & Gamble Company, Kimberly-Clark Corporation and others, are particularly good at gathering insights from their shoppers and users to learn not only about habits but desires, wants and needs. Keep an eye on those that place a premium value on finding new ways to discover insights into how shoppers and users tick in a world that doesn't always follow logical order. 

Catastrophic global events, economic forecasts, politics, war and other things all impact our values, our fears and our desires. Truly innovative companies are aware of and can leverage these events and "mega-trends" to provide even more solutions to their customers.

Some of these trends will continue and evolve in 2008 and into 2009: The ongoing movement of manufacturing jobs offshore, rising health care and fuel costs, wireless communications, online social networking, the credit crunch, the depressed housing market and the aging baby boomer population are just a few of the trends that will impact our lives and our spending habits.

We now know more about consumers, like tech-savvy Tweens and "Alpha Moms," than ever before. We can gauge their online habits and see which advertisements have the most impact. Marketing approaches are changing with non-traditional marketers banking on the leverage provided by social networks and technology. If a retail experience is retold and recommended to friends via word-of-mouth, text, instant message, newsgroup post, etc. -- it's more valuable than a $2 million Super Bowl spot.

In 2008, we're spending more on organic food and clothing, eco-friendly packaging and cleaning products, money-saving appliances and high-tech electronics that entertain, direct and transport us in ways we've never dreamed of -- but somehow always needed or desired.


Innovation Beyond Borders

Leveraging these insights and trends can't be successful without help from the outside. Open innovation is proving that the brightest ideas don't necessarily come from inside the four walls of corporate offices or even necessarily from within the borders of our homeland. Innovative leaders should seek out collaborative partnerships not only with other companies, but also with universities, laboratories, consultants and manufacturers that have unique capabilities that they themselves don't.

Building strategic alliances is a trend that will continue to influence how, where and what we innovate. While India and China are key players, innovation is coming from emerging market places, like Brazil, Russia, Hungary, Israel and Romania, to name a few.

You don't have to be a business executive or inventor to understand how innovation happens in our changing world, and how ideas can take us to a new level of lifestyle. Those who strive to understand and anticipate how trends affect us emotionally, physically and spiritually truly "get" innovation.