Demystifying innovation

- Let me ask you a question. When you hear the word "innovation," what comes to your mind? I'm assuming you have an idea of what it is and what it looks like. But here's the thing. There's a lot of definitions of innovation out there, and it's important we spend time both demystifying it and redefining it. There's a phrase I hear often, "I'm not an innovator," but that's just not true. Let me share a quick story. I met a woman who was working as a director in a startup company. Prior to that, she worked for a well-known food company. She told me in her previous role, she created a product that was still selling on retail shelves. In other words, the product outlived her career there. And then she said, "Oh, but I'm not an innovator." And I said, "What? You've created something that outlived your career at this company, and it still sells in retail today. You absolutely are an innovator." She exclaimed in disbelief, "Really?" And I said, "Yes!" She was shocked and was so happy that she was an innovator, and I was surprised that she couldn't see this for herself. The reason why people like this woman say they aren't innovators is because there's misinformation about the meaning of the word innovation. So it is time we reclaimed it. Let's start with what innovation isn't. First of all, innovation is not technology. Does that surprise you? Innovation is not technology. Technology is technology. Technology is often an enabler for innovation, and technology may help people innovate, but technology itself isn't innovation. This is a common misconception. People are led to think, if I don't work in technology or if I don't have a technology background, I can't innovate, and there is nothing further from the truth. So let's decouple the word technology from innovation. Second, innovation is not just big "I" innovation. Big "I" innovation is that big disruptive innovation we tend to think of when we think of the word innovation. It's the change that disrupts industries. Disruptions like ride sharing changing the taxi industry, Netflix disrupting Blockbuster, Tesla disrupting the auto industry. This is all innovation, of course, but it's not the only examples of innovation. And if we think innovation is just big "I" innovation, then the majority of us could never innovate, including me. Third, innovation is not just for the few. When you think about innovators, who do you picture? If you're like me, you probably think of people like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, right? Yes, these individuals are incredible innovators. But if you limit your thinking to these really special people and geniuses, then you're probably asking, how in the world could that ever be me? So how do we rethink innovation? First, innovation is for everyone. Yes, it's for everyone. And that means you, the person listening to me speak right now. Everyone can innovate. Everyone has the potential to innovate. Second, innovation is everywhere. Innovation is much more prevalent than you think. It's more widespread. It's innovation in the every day. It's what I call little "i" innovation. Little "i" Innovation is innovation in the normal everyday part of work and life. I was innovating before I even knew innovating was a thing. I was innovating before I even knew what innovation was. Third, innovation is learnable. It's a teachable mindset and skillset anyone can learn, just like reading. Now that we've demystified innovation, it is time to redefine it. I'll explain that in the next video.