The Greatest Innovations Are the Ones You Don't See

TheGreatestInnovationsAretheOnesYouDon'tSee

Cool,shiny,sleek:thesearethequalitiesweassociatewithtop-shelfinnovations.That'sbecausewe'reconstantlyconfrontedwithmagazineandInternetlistsofthemostinnovativecompaniesthatareessentiallyjustbeautycontests.Atthetopofalltheseshimmeringlistsareblusterybandsandglitzygadgetsandchicdesigners.

Buttakeacloserlookandyou'llseethatthesesparklyobjectsaren'treallythebestinnovations.Ifyouusedtheselistsasaninvestmenttool,youwouldn'tactuallybeatacompositegrowthindexliketheRussell3000--youwouldloseyourpurse,yourswagger,andyourassumptionsaboutwhatmakesaninnovationvaluable.

Innovationcan,ofcourse,haveabigpayout,justnotinthewaythattheselistswantyoutobelieve.Themostvaluableinnovationsdon'thaveexcitingstoriesandthey'renotcool,shiny,orsleek.They'replainandunderstated,theyblendinwiththeirsurroundings--they'retheinventionsthatdon'tcatchoureye.They'rehiddeninplainsight.

Trueinnovationhappensbehind-the-scenes.Sure,newtechnologiesandproductsandservicesthatweperceiveasbreakthroughadvancementslookexciting,butthemeaningfulinnovationisinthelarger,morecomplicatedprocessesthatmakethosethingspossIBLe.

There'snonewmiracledrugwithoutdiscoveriesinchemistry,manufacturing,andcontrolprocesses.There'snonewanimatedfeaturefilmwithoutarevolutioninsoftware-codingpractices.There'snonewelectriccarwithoutdevelopmentsinmaterialsciences.

Themostvaluableinnovationssolverealproblemsandrespondtopressingissues.Considerallthegame-changingactionsthathavefacilitatedlife-savingimprovementstoeverydayexistence:de-salianatingwatertoquenchdrought-strickenregions,de-bottleneckinghighwaysandairporttraffictoimproveflowandtoreduceaccidents,re-developingtheelectricalbridgetorADIcallyimproveenergyefficiency.It'seasytoforgetthattheInternetandhumangenomics--bothrevolutionaryplatforms--are,inreality,loosefederationsoftechnology,software,andstitches.

Sothesmartestinnovatorsaretheoneswholooknotatlistsinmagazinesbutwholookattheprocessesandproductsthateveryoneelseoverlooks.Herearethreewaystofindandmakeuseofthesehiddengems.

Followtheriverupstream. Innovatorscanlearnalotfromwildernessguides.Adventurersknowtofollowtheriverupstreamtotheheadwaterswheneverthey'velosttheirway.Thisisawonderfulanalogyforgrowthandchange:takeaninnovativedevice,service,orsolution,andtraceitallthewaytoitsroots--tothebasic,foundationalpartsthatmakeupitswhole.Determinewhichelementsmaketheproductinnovative,thatmakethisobjectstandout.Isitlighter?Smaller?Easiertouse?Byidentifyingthestartofapreviousinnovation,youjustmightfindthestartofyourown,newerandbetterinnovation.

Talktothelocals. Intheworldofinnovation,suppliers,distributors,andserviceprovidersarethelocalswhocangiveyouinsiderexpertisethatyouwon'tgetanywhereelse.Bringtheselocalsintoyourprojectasearlyaspossible,preferablybeforethedesignanddevelopmentstages.Askthemhowthey'dimproveyourproductorservice.EncouragethemtointegratetheircapABIlitiesintoyourinnovationgoals.Bekindandgeneroustothesesuppliers,distributors,andserviceproviders.Iftheyhavereasontobelievethatyou'lltakeadvantageofthem,they'llinevitablybereluctanttosharetheirlocalknowledge.Givethemthefreedomtoworktheirmagic.

Forageandfish. Onceyoufindthesehiddeninnovators,goonanexpeditiontogethertoco-createyourfutureproject.Searchforthelow-hangingfruitthatothersbeforeyoumissedbecausetheydidn'thavethehelpoflocals.Gatherthenutsnearyourcamp,theberriesthatturnouttobenotonlyediblebutalsofullofnutrients.Withouttheknowledgeandexperienceoflocals,youwon'tknowwhatyoucanactuallyuseandhowtouseit.Gofishingandputoutyourlinesinnewmarkets.Makeitworthwhileforthesuppliers,distributors,andserviceprovidershelpingyoubybringingadditionalvaluetotheirinnovation.Themorelinesyouputout,themorelikelyyou'llpullinabigcatch.

Curiously,theonlytimeweseetheseinvisibleinnovationsandinnovatorsiswhentheyfail.Thinkaboutblackoutsandfoodrecallsandnaturaldisasters.Itisatthesemomentsofcrisiswhenwerealizehowvaluablethesetechnologiesare.Soinsteadofwaitingforthemtofail,embracethegiftsofthesehiddenwondersbydiscoveringthemnow.Wherewillyoulookfortheghostsofinnovation'sfuture?