gps10's blog

Invention vs Innovation

Last fall, Dean Kamen gave the Allen H. Ford Distinguished Lecture on October 14. One of the points he made that stuck with me was the differences between invention and innovation.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines these words as the following:

Invention- The action of coming upon or finding; the action of finding out; discovery (whether accidental, or the result of search and effort).

Innovation- The action of innovating; the introduction of novelties; the alteration of what is established by the introduction of new elements or forms.

Since then, every time I see or hear the word "innovate" in any of its forms (which is quite often), I am reminded of the lecture and apply the definition to the usage. Oftentimes, I find that "innovate" is often used where "invent" should have been. This is obviously the result of marketing drones and executives deciding to take the product or company to the next level of excellence by using more powerful words. Apparently, invention isn't as exciting as innovation, so it gets the shaft come marketing time.

If in the position to market something, don't self-label your product as an innovation. You have no right to call it that. Instead, label it an invention. If your product changes the world (which is what an innovation is), let others label it as such. If marketing a company, you are not "innovating the world." Instead, you could be "paving the path for innovation." When you are changing the way you do something, you are not innovating that field- you are reinventing the apporach.

It is OK to dream about changing the world, but please, don't get ahead of yourself. Only time and impact can transform invention into innovation. Please, market responsibly.

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I agree that innovative is an overused word.