One Apple A Day #366
When I read about innovation, a word that comes out often is “speed”.
All the process, methodologies and tools created to support innovation are designed to make the process faster. Being able to go very quickly from an idea to a prototype is vital.
There is a pervasive sense of urgency in the way every organisation approach innovation.
In his book “Guns, Germs and Steel”, Jared Diamond used the term “autocatalytic process” concerning technology evolution. The term, borrowed from chemistry, indicates a self-sustaining process in which at least one of the products from a reaction is one of the reactants used in the process itself.
Innovation has all the characteristics of an autocatalytic or self-sustained process. Every innovation is based on previous ones and creates the ground for more and better innovations to follow.
Innovation is not only a self-sustainable process, but it is also a compounding one. Every innovation compound on the previous ones and it makes the following one faster to achieve.
But this acceleration comes at a price. As this research shows the resources needed to keep up with this velocity increase at a rate that is even higher.
Creating innovations that have an impact is becoming more and more expensive.
The side effect of this phenomena is that more and more people are left behind in the innovation journey. There is an increasing innovation gap in the world. We have people planning to fly to Mars while the majority of humanity has no shoes.
“If you go fast, you go ahead. If you go slow, you go far.”
It’s easy to understand why speed is so vital for innovation. Our society, in particular in business, is based on the idea of competition. We are all racing against each other and innovation is the key to come out ahead of the pack. And survive.
But how long can we sustain this mindset? If you are among the few winners, what will your achievements if the majority of humanity is left behind? Is it even a real victory?