Doing Common Things Uncommonly

In a world where technology vendors talk about innovation, I am scared that innovation is going to be commoditized.

Clayton Christensen says in ‘The Innovator’s Dilemma’ that innovation without invention is all but a ‘moo’ point. So, does invention exist without innovation? Let’s try to define and differentiate invention and innovation.

The ability to think in ways that are new and novel is the center of creativity. Creativity is of two types: innovation and invention.

Invention is all about creating something that never existed before and innovation is about thinking creatively about something that already exists. Invention can be defined as a product of innovative thoughts coupled with the concept of productization.

An innovative business is about basing all processes and plans on the way the business operates whereas an inventive business is about creating new ways of operating the business itself. I think the difference has to be clearly understood by all top honchos of businesses today.

So, it was a nice sunny day at Pune, and I was chatting with the then country head of Symantec when the topic turned to innovation. A very interesting discussion it turned out to be when he recalled innovation that can fail and one that is a commercial success.

A girl with a constant running nose can have a box of tissue strapped on her head, which dispenses tissues continuously. A nice idea for the girl! Are you calling this innovation? Is it a feasible commercial product? Does it make any sense? Not all innovations make business sense.

It was over our second mug of beer that he shared an interesting observation: once at a restaurant he noticed a very innovative way to solve ketchup-dispensing problems for the human race. A Heinz ketchup bottle was designed in a squeeze-easy bottle made smaller than the normal size, with the cap a little larger so that the bottle can be kept upside down. Even the labels were printed upside down to help people understand!

Interestingly, being smaller in size, Heinz is actually selling less ketchup for the same prize by merely marketing this innovation. I was impressed because not only has innovation helped mitigate the challenge, but proved a commercial success.

To top it all, a small quote from the man who made it all happen-Heinz himself. It was printed at the back of the bottle and it went – “Doing common things uncommonly”.