As an innovation consultant defining innovation is a central challenge for me, day to day.

Defining innovation is a necessary challenge for every company in order to give the term real impact and prevent it from becoming an ineffective empty phrase, which means that there will be various definitions, which will also change over time.

I even made a pragmatic attempt in an (early) episode of my “Smart Innovation” podcast about it - there is also a full transcript to read (German/original & English/Google Translate).

Here is an excerpt to start:

“If you search for innovation on Google, you will find very, very, very, very many results and you actually get the impression that the word is sometimes used in an inflationary way. Is it therefore just a buzzword, an empty phrase?

I don't believe so. In a certain way it has of course become a timeless fashion, and I personally think that's a good thing. Because especially in a time when there is rapid change in many, many areas, it is necessary that we know how we have to deal with this change, how we have to deal with the changes, how we can actively make something of it, how we actively design and create new things. And that is a very, very central topic for me in the area of ​​innovation. At the start of the podcast I thought to myself: It's a good idea to define the word innovation, the topic of innovation. Because it is a constant challenge for every company to fill the term with life and then give it real impact. Because if we don't talk about what we collectively understand by the terms we use, the potential for talking past each other is huge. And especially in a topic as open and broad as innovation, it happens very quickly that we talk about apples and oranges and talk past each other in the company and forget what we could actually achieve if we were in the same boat. So it happens again and again that innovation doesn't happen just because the definition of the word is not clear in the organization and is clarified the same for everyone. The topic is so important to me that it belongs in a podcast about innovations. 

Whenever several people come together, we have to develop a common idea about the things we are dealing with. So that we share the same vision and beliefs, so that we can actually develop actions from the ideas we have about a topic. So that we use the time wisely, use the energy we have wisely, to actually reach a goal and then move together in the same direction. I am not a scientist myself and will not go through the entire history of innovation research in this episode. I will therefore try to make a pragmatic attempt at definition.

If we just look at the word, we see that innovation is female: Innovation, says the Duden. Origin is from Late Latin, meaning renewal, change or innovare, renew, change, do something new. And it also has the core, the Latin core novus, new, in it. If we then look a little further for definitions, we quickly come to a point where we find words like planned and controlled change, innovation in a social system through the application of new ideas and techniques. Or something like: introduction of something new, an innovation, a reform.

What I also really like is: the realization. Realization of a novel, advanced solution to a specific problem, especially the introduction of a new product or the application of a new process. The word realization is already in this sentence. It's not about having a new idea, new ideas that don't actually want to be led towards implementation, towards realization. The topic of realization is a very, very central element of innovation, after we have done many things beforehand to give ourselves security on this path, security during implementation.“

Love this. So simple yet spot on!

This is so thoughtful and well-written! Lots to think about here, and really appreciate how you took time to share these thoughts.

Someone had to use Miro to reply 

Many view innovation solely through the lens of creativity. But without implementation and market adoption, something new is just a concept. Worse, if it's not new, it's just an imitation.

At Odepar, my consulting practice aims to help entrepreneurs bring their innovative ideas to market, especially those that can have a positive impact on society. 

It's not always obvious. Before consulting, I worked at iZettle (now Zettle by PayPal). At first glance, marketing a financial service to small business owners may not seem impactful. But one of my first tasks was to launch the product in Mexico and Brazil. As I reviewed customer interviews, I realized that for some, accepting card payments was life-changing. 

It can be difficult (as in the current AI debate) to predict the impact of a new, widely adopted product or service. While the flowchart above oversimplifies what innovation really is, it serves as a useful mental model when I meet with startup founders. 

I love the visuals for this. A very succinct way to bring the concept to life. Really cool. 

For me, innovation means continuously thinking about how we can solve our customer challenges in a way that is fundamentally different from what they know already, but fits their needs. I like the Venn diagram about innovation, where innovation is created where user desirability, business viability and technical feasibility meet. We use prioritization frameworks and an initiative one-pager that includes these aspects, to rate whether our ideas fit the needs.

I believe structured & continuous innovation is only possible with the right mindset in the organization. We have Product & UX Fridays, where we exchange knowledge (watching a video & commenting) and use agile work frameworks to support continous improvement both on tactical and strategic level. And of course, we use Miro (lately Miro AI, too), to leverage tools for collaboration and higher efficiency, making innovation processes smooth and elegant.

Thanks for sharing, @Mona Bossemeyer! Definitely agree that bringing structure into innovation and design helps the design process. 

To me, innovation isn't just about big breakthroughs; it's about looking at an old problem in a new way. It’s about daring to step off the well-trodden path and forge a new one when the usual routes don’t lead to where you need to go. For instance, I’ve started several projects where I had to think outside the box to gather people, resources, or even ideas that weren’t initially on the radar, all because I wanted to achieve something that hadn’t been done before in our group. For me, innovation is really about knowing what you want to achieve and being brave enough to chase after it, no matter the odds. It’s about crafting your own path to make things happen.

Thanks for sharing, @Camille Chen! Appreciate your take on this. :) 

If doing something in a different way makes life simpler, to me that’s innovation. It doesn’t have to reinvent the whole world, rather, the simplest of things!

Recently, with growing AI usage, life has become very interesting. At work, testing the various AI tools for their functionalities is a major part of innovation for me. The recent Miro Assist is nothing short of amazing and has only made Miro much more indispensable (as though it wasn’t attractive before). I use it as a thought starter and a thought partner to handle anything from the most mundane of tasks to ideating a new creative concept. 

To me, this is innovation! What took a lot time and efforts earlier has become much more efficient and simple now with this magic button Miro Assist. This is a live example of innovation that I can’t imagine life without! 

I used to think "innovation" is always something HUGE and groundbreaking, think about inventing an iPhone or Tesla cars. But, as a young (as promoted to this role a year ago) art director, I learned that true innovation can happen in the little ways.

Let me give you an example… My team consists of some designers working remotely in different time zones and others on-site. Recently we all had to participate in a big creative project with MANY moving parts! I was stressed at first. A LOT! Then I decided to use Miro as our digital hangout where we could share research findings, post visuals of the current design trends, brainstorm all our ideas together, etc.

It became like our virtual creative playground for the project! 

As a result, everyone could contribute ideas regardless of location. And the best part was how much fun the team had with this new way of working. No one felt siloed or stressed about the project, everyone enjoyed explored ideas digitally, almost side-by-side.

So yeah, for me, innovation is thinking fresh, shaking up your approach, and not getting stuck in the old routine! 

Thanks so much for these kind words, @Deepa Srinivasan! Love to see it! 

This is very cool, @Kate Pevnev! Thanks so much for sharing! Love to see how Miro helped bring teams together. :) 

The most important element of innovation is a well-defined problem.

For me, innovation occurs when we push beyond the initial layer of common ideas. During brainstorming sessions, the first solutions that come up are usually familiar opinions and known approaches. The real challenge lies in encouraging everyone to move past these initial answers and delve deeper into more creative and unconventional solutions. This process of pushing boundaries is where true innovation happens.

Innovation, to me, is the way of turning ideas into value. It’s about seeing connections where others see walls and finding solutions where others see obstacles. Here’s a concrete example from my work: I once helped a team member who was struggling to manage his time effectively. He was overwhelmed with tasks and couldn’t find a way to prioritize them. I introduced the Eisenhower Matrix, a tool that categorizes tasks into four quadrants based on urgency and importance. This small tweak in the workflow led to a significant increase in productivity and a decrease in stress levels

Innovation is not only create new things. Innovation to me is find new ways to do things that are already been made but in a creative way. Is an opportunity to do the best for the business, in a intelligent way.
innovation is a behavior. Is a mentality of doing peoples lives better.

Hi @Yehor Kachanov  -- So true that understanding a problem is key to finding a solution. Pushing past the initial assumptions is always hard but there’s a payoff when it works. Great take on this issue. 

Hi @Petra Ivanigova 

Would really like to hear more about this Eisenhower matrix, not familiar with it. There’s so many useful workflow frameworks that not everyone knows about. Will definitely look this up. 

Hi @Dorival Melero 

“Innovation is a behavior” -- truly! This is a great way to approach innovation not as a one-off behavior but as a constant process. 

To me, innovation requires challenging the status quo and trying solutions that may not work. It’s about failing forward. It’s about being comfortable with being uncomfortable. It’s about taking an iterative approach to consistently build a continuous cycle of improvement and never settling for your first idea or your first draft. Plan, do, check, adjust, plan, do, check, adjust, plan, do, check...

For me, innovation is about the creative pursuit to identify the non-obvious or novel solutions to problems that are both known and unknown.

Innovative solutions appear through the practice of observation and/or reflection to deeply understand opportunity gaps, whether through structured project management methodology, through observations and space to think (love a good shower thought!), or through a surprising a-ha moment.

An example I often think back to is a design thinking challenge we were running to help sales teams spend more time with customers, to deeply understand their problems and offer better solutions.

While running one of dozens of ethnographic research interviews with stakeholders with our pre-planned question set, a salesperson interrupted the session to ask the senior salesperson being interviewed if they could move their car as they had been blocked in. The reaction from both indicated this was a frequent event.

A few questions later (“How many times a day does this happen?”, “How long does it take you to get from the office to your car and back?”, “How long after you return does it take to get back into the work you were taken away from?”), we uncovered that up to 20% of the sales teams productive hours were spent moving cars.

Conversations with the finance team to enquire about the cost of parking for all sales staff uncovered that this scramble parking situation had was created several years prior to save $1,200 a month in parking costs, and not reviewed when the sales team had doubled. Compared to the opportunity of freeing up 20% of productivity improvements for teams with annual targets in the $100mil’s, this problem was solved within a week.

If that salesperson hadn’t nocked on the door at that time, and the design team member not had the curiosity to deviate from the planned interview questions and ask the non-obvious questions, we would likely have not ended up identifying a non-obvious solution that required low cost and effort to resolve

For me, embracing failure as a chance to learn is key to driving innovation. Teams benefit from an iterative approach, where they test ideas, evaluate outcomes, and continuously improve. For example, I like to allow teams to adapt and refine their strategies based on feedback. This approach not only enhances flexibility but also reduces risks by addressing issues early on. It's important, though, to find the right balance between trying new things and maintaining stability, ensuring everyone stays on the same page. Ultimately, this method fosters a culture where teams can innovate and consistently deliver better outcomes in today's fast-paced business world.

Love this!

Innovation is, by definition, the introduction of new things, concepts, or approaches of doing something. At its heart, it’s about discovering a new path or creating a new solution to a challenge. Sometimes that challenge starts very close to home.

By that I mean, I believe innovation starts with the flexibility of changing one’s self. In this volatile, interesting, and challenging time, having the ability and agility to change and evolve is critical. Being able to pivot and change, whether from a traditional tech job, to use AI, to collaborate (such as using Miro), to network, or learn other new soft or hard skills with the resources at hand, it’s one of the most crucial strengths to develop.

—and, even better, if possible, to teach others how to use what you’ve learned about innovating the self. It’s the skill that enables entrepreneurs, start-ups, and workers to adapt and thrive even though the information and data economy are continually evolving with AI and robotics. 

Thank you to everyone who participated in our How I Innovate Challenge! We learned so much about the big and small ways you innovate every day, from designing creative technological advances, creating new and scalable solutions to delight your customers, to mindfulness practices that help you run towards challenges with open arms. 

🏆 Now, without further ado, let's congratulate our winner of the How I Innovate Challenge…  Huge congratulations to @Nick Di Stefano! You have earned yourself a $100 gift card. Look out for a DM from me about how to redeem. 🏆

Thank you to all who took part in this challenge! Your responses have been a source of inspiration, and your willingness to share your perspective is what makes the Miro Community so strong. We appreciate the opportunity to connect with and learn from all of you.

Thanks @Marissa Caputo and the @Miro Community Team!