The Three Ages of Innovation

Innovation isn’t a separate activity that happens once at the beginning of a project. It isn’t the exclusive domain of an Innovation Director or a “Creative” team. Innovation is the ability to continually see things through fresh eyes, however familiar they become; to apply a different perspective to something you have done a hundred times; to challenge your hard-won assumptions and to believe you may be wrong, however right you feel.

Dan argues that there are three distinct ages in the growth of an idea or a product, and that innovation can and should occur in all of these. It should be the responsibility of everyone involved, all the time. He wants you to be as excited about the possibility of innovation as he is.

1. The Three Ages of Innovation Dan North @tastapod
2. Three Ages Explore Stabilise Commoditise
3. Explore Experiment Analyse Research Play! Iterate Study Sketch — “Maximise discovery”
4. Three Ages Explore Stabilise Commoditise — “Maximise discovery”
5. Stabilise Teachability Repeatability Articulate Categorise Validate — “Minimise variance” Structure Predictability
6. Three Ages Explore Stabilise Commoditise — “Minimise variance” — “Maximise discovery”
7. Commoditise Effort Activity Time Scale Cost — “Maximise efficiency” Economics
8. Three Ages Explore Stabilise Commoditise — “Maximise discovery” — “Minimise variance” — “Maximise efficiency” Conflicting goals!
9. Multiple simultaneous dimensions Explore Stabilise Commoditise
10. So where does the innovation happen? Explore Stabilise Commoditise
11. Innovation zone! Explore Stabilise Commoditise
12. Vive la difference! Explore Stabilise Commoditise