“Innovation” is an increasingly hard word to define, and I do not know if it can accurately be defined in a single sentence. A specific definition that stuck out to me was created by Pete Foley who says that innovation is “a great idea, executed brilliantly, and communicated in a way that is both intuitive and fully celebrates the magic of the initial concept.” I believe that this statement most precisely reflects my perspective on innovation. It is important to note that “innovating” does not mean that one has to reinvent the wheel. I believe that innovation can also occur on a small scale. As stated in “Innovation is a Discipline, Not a Cliche,” (Week 1 Article) “big bangs” are rare and should not be the main focus of innovation. It is my understanding that if you try to focus on creating the next Apple, you may miss many smaller, but valuable, innovative ideas along the way. To circle back to Foley’s definition, innovative ideas, though executed well, also need to be communicated well. If not communicated properly to the public, it can be a “right idea, wrong time” situation, similar to the stunted success of the Google Glass.
