There are difficulties with the economy, education, and other areas of life. One of the common themes I hear is that innovation will make it better. While I believe that innovation is the way to a better future, I do wonder how much we support the efforts to innovate.
While I question the need for more bureaucracy, I could see an expanded opportunity to actively encourage more innovation through the Departments of Commerce and Education. Seems like the government is already bankrolling some nonpartisan efforts on innovation.
Educationally, professionally, or personally those who innovate are less common. In the development of innovation they are likely to be less appreciated. It is only with the confirmation of success that society gives credit for innovation.
Think about your TV recordings. Did digital TV recording start in the late 1990s? Think again--it's middle aged!
There are businesses that do a great job of turning innovation into products, services, and profits. They change the game in ways that create greater prosperity and convenience. Fast Company tracks and recognizes innovative businesses annually.
Let's roll those innovation thoughts over to K-12 education. Once you have the basics, how should your education evolve? We will get into more of these ideas in future postings. We see examples of educational innovation in people that challenge the educational status quo. I think about charter schools and new private schools and new types of assignments that are unfamiliar to their parents from their time in the same level of school. For now, let focus on personal uniqueness as a route ot innovation.
Standardized testing usually doesn't measure your capacity to create innovative solutions. Innovators tend to use common ideas in uncommon ways. Think about ways that you are uncommon.
- How did you develop those unique skills?
- How do you use your uncommon skills?
- What innovative things do you use now that you did not touch a few years ago?
For example, mobile phones are commonplace now. The commercially available portable phone was an innovation. When they were big and bulky, they were new. Once the price and size shrunk, they gained more widespread acceptance. The smaller, smarter phone was another step. Blackberrys, iPhones, Google phones and their apps are innovations that feed off each other and challenge the innovators to dig deeper.
Sometimes business innovation is simply repackaging something you have already done in a way that is more publicly acceptable. Let's get it started?
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