Is Innovation Dead?
Do you also think that innovation has stopped?
A majority of the world has started to get doubts like- Has Innovation stopped? How can we kickstart innovation? How can I be more innovative? Or creative? and blah blah blah.
Yes, a boom of innovation happened in 1990–2000, when the internet came into existence and the .com bubble emerged.
But, viewing innovation solely as the creation of something entirely new may lead to the misconception that innovation is halted.
In my view, this perspective of innovation is pretty naive.
Think about the first telephone that was ever created.
A groundbreaking innovation. You could hear a person through this device despite them being far away from you. A miracle!
New advancements kept coming in after that. Phones gained screens, cameras, messaging capabilities, and video calls. Technology continued to progress, and it continues to do so today.
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Imagine if people looked at the first-ever phone and thought-
Yep. This is all we will ever need. *yay*
The progress would’ve never been possible.
But we didn’t.
Because humans are inherently curious and driven to explore, learn, and improve. We are the innovators. We are all full of creativity and passion. And these big inventions are much like new opportunities for never-ending innovations.
The phone is just an example.
Whether we look at computers, robots, spaceships, or non-technological innovations like fabrics, food production, or business models, the pattern remains the same: continuous improvement and advancement.
A study by Dew et al. (2015) found that incremental innovations, which improve existing products or processes, can be just as impactful as radical innovations.
If we understand this very simple thing that-
Innovation is the process of creating something new OR significantly improving upon existing ideas, processes, products, or services to deliver value. Maybe then we will get back on the track of innovation and creativity.
And so, the answer is- No.
Innovation is not dead. What do you think?
Samreen.
This was just a random thought today because I kept coming across such questions on different social platforms. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
