Innovation needs all 3 levels of support, so what happens if you miss one?

April 6, 2016   |   by Chris Kalaboukis

The words creativity and innovation are often used interchangeably. For my doctoral dissertation, I had to spend time defining them and reached the following definition of (and relationship between) the two words. Creativity is an individual function. It is the cognitive ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, and create meaningful and original ideas. Innovation is an organizational function. It is the generation, production, and marketing of new and useful products, services, processes, or business models. The transformation between individual creativity and organizational innovation is the organizational function of implementation, which is the application of resources to turn an idea into a company output. In a previous article (Who is Responsible for Innovation in my Company?) I discussed the need for three levels of support in the organization to assure the individual generation of creative ideas, and the organizational implementation of those ideas such that they are released successfully into the … Continue reading →