10 quotations with regard to innovation (I)

Humankind is what it is today as a result of innovation. But what exactly does innovation consist of? The dictionary defines it as "changing or altering something by introducing new features." The new features enable us to be more confident when facing the impact of the changes to which we are subjected over time.

Here are five out of ten declarations with regard to innovation, illustrated with quotations by famous people who have made innovations in their respective fields. Next week we will give you the other five in a new post.

The ideas

Without ideas there is no innovation. Mental representations generated by our imagination or by our reasoning are the germ of all novelty, of all change, and, therefore, they are also a powerful tool to meet the challenges we have to face. Ideas are the true engine of innovation.

The quotation is from Victor Hugo (1802-1885), French poet, novelist and playwright, who made numerous innovations in the theatrical field in his time.

Courage

One of the main ingredients of innovation is courage. It often takes an act of courage to innovate, especially when things are actually going well. What is the point of risking the introduction of new features to a system if they do not seem to be necessary? This is question that makes people or companies take a backwards step when it come to introducing changes, and which they later regret because they did not do it.

The quotation is by Peter F. Drucker (1909-2005), an Austrian lawyer and philosopher, considered to be the father of management.

Action

A multitude of ideas cross the minds of human beings every day. Our mind never stops working, it is always thinking. Sometimes, an idea may shine brighter, with a spark that can only be found in great ideas. But in most cases, they are then lost in a mental maelstrom. Innovation consists precisely of acting when one of these innovative ideas comes to mind; It is action that leads us to innovate.

The quotation is by Theodore Levitt (1925-2006), an American economist and professor at the Harvard Business School. His innovations focussed on the field of economics (he was the first to coin the term globalisation from an economic point of view).

Need

We previously talked about how necessary courage is when it comes to innovating, and how frustrating it can be not to have done it at the right time. Because time does not forgive: Life goes on, societies develop and so do our competitors (whether we are talking about companies or businesses). Many traditional companies are suffering from this problem at this very moment, as they see how start-ups created by entrepreneurs are becoming market leaders. No matter how reluctant we are, sooner or later we will have to choose between innovating or disappearing.

The quotation is by Jack Welch (1935), an American writer and businessman. He spent all his life making innovations in the General Electric Company until it became a successful company (while he was in charge, he quintupled its turnover).

An open mind

The trend is for human beings to be conservative: If it works, do not fix it. We try to live in what some thinkers call the "comfort zone", and so we avoid ideas, both our own and those of others, that impel us to reorganise our existence. The only way to get innovative ideas to germinate and drive us along the road to change is to always keep a very open mind, question everything and be able to cast aside our old opinions.

The quotation is by Eduard Punset (1936), a Spanish writer and science communicator who was famous for his television appearances.