where do innovations come from

In two recent posts I introduced very different examples of innovations - one was very practical, the other a very powerful concept.

The first was SPIN Farming which is a very practical, powerful, and profitable approach to small scale farming. The second was a short video introducing the Girl Effect; which is the concept that improving (saving) a girl’s life has exponential effect on her, her family, and her community.

What is interesting about these two innovations is that they have been arrived at from two completely different directions.

SPIN Farming is the build up of one concept upon another. The innovation comes as concepts have combined and been adapted within their new environment. In this instance the innovation is cumulative.

If we look at the “Girl Effect” I think that the starting point was a mass of research, observations, data and overwhelming everyday problems. The Girl Effect is a distillation of all of that until a single succinct diamond of a concept was exposed - save a girl, change the world.

That single line ties everything else together. Examine any element of the Girl Effect material and that single phase jumps out at you.

So why is this helpful? It illustrates that inspiration, ideas, creativity, and innovation can come from everywhere, from every direction. It can be a sequential building of a core idea or it can be refinement of much information down to a core concept.

What is valuable here is to acknowledge that innovation has many sources. Perhaps opening up our awareness and improving our skill at recognising those sources is one of the key tools in the innovator’s toolbox.

Tags: creativity, toolbox