4 Types Of Innovation & The Problems They Solve
Article:
https://hbr.org/2017/06/the-4-types-of-innovation-and-the-problems-they-solve
Many of our "Innovation Mirror" posts describe innovation as a process of change, without identifying exactly what this "change" involves. If we were to explore this question further, I am sure that many of us would understand that this change is geared towards coming up with a solution for particular problems.
In the article I shared above, Satell describes innovation as a problem solving process. Here he identifies 4 types of innovation and the types of problems that they solve. More, he categorizes each innovation type in relation to how well the problem is defined, along with how well the domain is defined. From here, we can decide on what type of innovation our problem requires in order to come up with a solution.
Source: Harvard Business Review; Greg Satell: The 4 Types of Innovation and the Problems They Solve
1. Breakthrough innovation is needed when well defined problems are difficult to solve, most likely the result of unconventional skill domains.
2. Sustaining innovation results from well defined problems that fit well with existing domains.
3. Disruptive innovation comes from strategies that aim at utilizing domains that do not address identifies problems.
4. Basic research when nothing is established, basic research spark entirely new problems and domains.
I thought it was really interesting to break up innovation in a technical sense that identifies different elements which can define how innovation can result from distinct scenarios.
What do you think of these 4 innovation types? Do you think there are categories that are missing?
This is an awesome article and in hind sight is something that was completely overlooked previously. Personally, I never stopped to think about the moving parts associated with "innovation", but clearly innovation is more than just an advancement. I agree with these 4 categories of innovation. I believe that they cover any sort of problem and are a good starting point to a solution. However, when I think of innovation, problem solving is only half of what comes to mind. Of course innovation is commonly used in problem solving. However, innovation in my opinion shouldn't wait until there is a problem, but instead should be something that is constantly evolving and improving. Even if there is no problem, true innovation would ask the question "how do we make this even better or more efficient?" So yes, I approve of these 4 innovation types, but I think there is one category missing that aims to improve efficiency even where there are no real issues.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very good point, I completely agree! I think this article was more focused on using innovation as a solution to different problems that modern businesses face. However, it does not recognize that innovation could be used to prevent many of these problems from taking shape in the first place.
DeleteFor example, investing more into basic research does not have to be a solution to any particular problem, rather, basic research could be a step towards innovating diverse business categories and prevent specific problems from arising, which, as this article suggests, should be solved with thinking that involves breakthrough innovation, sustaining innovation and disruptive innovation.
Good point and I agree. Innovation does not necessarily need to be addressing a direct problem. Instead, innovation should be recognized as a process that improves areas that are not yet problematic - improving efficiency even if it appears to be efficient and thus, preventing problems that would require these innovative thinking types.