On Man’s Madness and Innovation

Have you noticed, successful products are not new inventions, rather an innovation of the old one?

Examples of innovation:

• From Betamax to VHS, from VHS it evolved to Laser Disc’s, Laser Disc’s to VCD’s and from VCD to DVD’s and then blue ray. (Now it can be streamed via your device)
• iPhone is an enhanced version of an old smartphone with their innovative OS.
• Surface  is not a new invention, but a better implementation of iPad

Thought leaders, successful start-ups and strong brands introduced an innovation of an old product or idea, and when they launched it, its more value adding and responsive to the present needs. This will not be possible w/o a generous amount of creativity thinking, that is a nose bleed and time consuming out of the box process, that ordinary folks don’t want to go thru.

To be successful ourselves, we need to recognise that the nature of a problem or need is still the same. Only made complicated with man’s tendency to gravitate for more. So the solutions we should offer- whether it’s in a form of service, a tangible product or a program intervention should be a innovation driven to address the complications brought about by men’s lust to accomplish and/or earn more, either (1) in a simpler and less time consuming manner or (2) [for HR] mitigate the behavioural issues brought about by above madness.

As what Thomas Edison once said “There’s a way to do it better – find it”

To apply innovation in employment or life in general, should research or read a lot so we can learn from thought leaders and successful personalities the issues they faced, mistakes and failure and how they handled the situation.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said “learn from the mistakes of others, you’ll never live long enough to make them all yourself”.

We can avoid their mistakes by building upon the lessons they provided. Take the cue from this ancient proverb

Everything has been will come back again. Everything that has ever done will be done again. Nothing is new on earth. There isn’t anything about which someone can say, ‘Look there is something new’. It was already here long ago. It was here before we were. Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 (NIrV)