I've been thinking a bit about what constitutes "Innovation". It's a bit of a catch cry for startups and enterprise alike at the moment. Personally I'm a big fan of being innovative (and disruptive for that matter), but what does that actually mean?
At The Iconic we've been doing a bunch of cool stuff under the covers like Angularizing our site and going for a mobile first, responsive design (RWD). Only 18% of the top 10K internet sites are doing RWD at the moment. Is this innovative? I'd say yes!
We are also doing Saturday deliveries, along with our existing 3 hour option. Is this innovation? It's hard to argue with being the first online retailer in Australia offering such convenience.
So?
The bit I find interesting is the gap between The Business and The Techies around this. I reckon both are great examples of innovation. But talk to folks on the business side about how our RWD site is smart enough to download images right-sized based on device and their eyes glaze over. Similarily, techies ignore the fact that organizing weekend delivery with partners takes months of negotiations, coordination and effort.
To me innovation means coming up with elegant solutions to problems, be that through applying new technologies, or changing business processes. Innovation is the art of seeing the vision, applying the smarts and wisdom to build it, and then having the focus, fortitude and willingness to see it through.
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