See innovation differently: How social media holds the key to true differentiation
When I was a college student considering a career in business, I loved the idea of innovation—it was the secret sauce that helped new brands to stand out and established brands to reassert their power. I romanticized that lightning-strike moment of brand-altering inspiration that changed the way people thought about a product or industry. I’d picture myself having a brilliant idea while walking the dog and calling a meeting with the higher-ups, who’d pound their fists on the table with excitement and immediately shout, “Ship it!”
Clearly, everyone in my daydream would recognize the brilliance of my innovative thinking and want my idea out in the world right away. No need for research, testing or iteration—let’s just do this!
Imagine my dismay when I launched my advertising career and learned that literally everything, from photography and package design to campaign headlines and website fonts, had to be discussed, debated, tested, revised and tested again before it ever reached the outside world.
My romantic idea of innovation as something you could just recognize in your gut was out of sync with the tremendous amount of bet-hedging most brands needed to feel confident in a new product or marketing campaign. Certainly, major missteps are avoided with such a measured approach—but so are opportunities to create significant connections. The sharp, brand-defining edges of inspired ideas are often worn down in focus groups as innovation teams strive for mass relatability at the expense of deeper relevance with their desired audience.
But what if I told you there was a way to both validate and refute innovative ideas without diluting what makes them unique and authentic? The results would be electrifying, but also require us to listen carefully to our audiences, dismantle our current thinking about the process for validating ideas, and be willing to take risks and fail fast. In short: Be scrappier, and see innovation differently.
