What is Innovation?
Tony Ulwick
Mar 27, 2011
By Strategyn CEO Tony Ulwick
When building a competency in innovation, a company must agree on the definition of innovation and the language that supports it. This paper, What Is Innovation?, defines innovation from a customer's 'job-to-be-done' perspective. It also introduces the terms needed to understand all the elements of Strategyn's Outcome-Driven Innovation process. A shared understanding of innovation terminology is the first step in engaging the organization in healthy discussion around what innovation is, how the process should be executed.
Unlike other innovation theories, ODI is described with precise language. During our 20 years of experience, we have discovered that within most companies there is a lack of agreement on what innovation is - or what a market or customer need is. If a company can't agree on the definition of innovation, it cannot create a competency in innovation.
Starting with key terms such as innovation, this paper defines other key terms such as desired outcome, emotional job, functional job, the job map, market growth paths, and the opportunity algorithm. The terms are ordered so that the reader can get a good understanding of how they relate and what it takes to succeed at innovation. The paper also includes an abridged glossary of terms.
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