Innovation

What is Innovation?

Innovation is the implementation of new ideas, processes, and techniques to update a product or service and create new value. Innovation is not limited to technological advancements but encompasses a broad spectrum of changes that drive progress and have a significant positive impact.

The Basic Idea

From the early inventions of the wheel and printing press to modern-day discoveries like cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI), innovation continues to transform our lives. These advancements have revolutionized how we live, communicate, and conduct business, but have also laid the groundwork for future innovations in technology and society overall. Where would we be without innovation?

While innovation is often associated with creativity and invention, it’s important to distinguish between these concepts. Creativity and invention primarily focus on the generation of new ideas or the creation of new things. In contrast, innovation is a process and an outcome. As a process, innovation involves bringing about new ideas, products, services, or solutions. As an outcome, it entails transforming creative concepts into real results that deliver value.1 It is the method of both developing new ideas and successfully implementing them within an organization or economic setting. 

Another misconception about innovation is that it’s limited to technological advancements, but innovation can also include broader social, economic, or organizational changes. For example, innovation might involve offering new solutions to address social issues on a community scale or developing new business models to help companies stand out from competitors.

The overarching goal of innovation is to rethink traditional approaches, question the status quo, and transform promising new ideas into practical, tangible results.

Ideas are useless unless used. The proof of their value is their implementation. Until then they are in limbo.


Theodore Levitt, Creativity Is Not Enough

About the Author

Smiling woman with long hair stands in front of a lush plant with pink and yellow flowers, near what appears to be a house exterior with horizontal siding and a staircase.

Kira Warje

Kira holds a degree in Psychology with an extended minor in Anthropology. Fascinated by all things human, she has written extensively on cognition and mental health, often leveraging insights about the human mind to craft actionable marketing content for brands. She loves talking about human quirks and motivations, driven by the belief that behavioural science can help us all lead healthier, happier, and more sustainable lives. Occasionally, Kira dabbles in web development and enjoys learning about the synergy between psychology and UX design.

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I was blown away with their application and translation of behavioral science into practice. They took a very complex ecosystem and created a series of interventions using an innovative mix of the latest research and creative client co-creation. I was so impressed at the final product they created, which was hugely comprehensive despite the large scope of the client being of the world's most far-reaching and best known consumer brands. I'm excited to see what we can create together in the future.

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BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST

GLOBAL COFFEEHOUSE CHAIN PROJECT

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By launching a behavioral science practice at the core of the organization, we helped one of the largest insurers in North America realize $30M increase in annual revenue.

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By implementing targeted nudges based on proactive interventions, we reduced drop-off rates for 450,000 clients belonging to USA's oldest debt consolidation organizations by 46%

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