James L. McQuivey, Ph.D. is a Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research serving Consumer Product Strategy professionals.
Everyone wants to create the next big thing. In the tech world, that desire has been translated as: “How can I invent the next iPad?”
The question, no matter how it’s asked, is the wrong one. When people ask about the next big thing, they see innovation as a linear progression toward some brand new, revolutionary technology. Naturally, everyone is trying to invent that new “thing,” but there is no straight line and no linear pattern to innovation.
Thanks to this demise of linear innovation, the next big thing isn’t going to take years of research and development. It won’t be developed in a big scientific lab by dozens of Ph.Ds; it won’t have a public launch date over which the press drools; and it won’t take years to generate millions of dollars.
Instead, the next big thing is going to come from left field. It will bundle together a patchwork of innovations in a seemingly amorphous way. The next big thing will be created by innovating the “adjacent possible.” The term was first used by Steven Johnson, who borrowed it from evolutionary biology. Basically, it refers to any innovation that stems directly from the present. The iPad, as an example, didn’t reinvent the wheel, but instead reapplied the concepts of Apple’s iPhone and laptops into a new, revolutionary product.
The genius of Apple’s accomplishment didn’t involve invention, but adjacent innovation — in effect, combining the best innovations of others to create a completely new and singular experience. Apple used the power of digital technology to spot, integrate, develop and deploy several adjacent innovations in a single product. That’s the central theory of innovating the adjacent possible: taking digital shortcuts to harness and combine adjacent innovations into a new thing.
Imagine, for example, the impact a digitally-integrated bathroom mirror would have on the fashion industry. It would be a digital display surface with a camera, options to connect over Wi-Fi, and even share updates through your social networks. By simply applying adjacent concepts, you could potentially transform the way L’Oreal, Procter & Gamble, Levi’s, Tesco, etc. do business.
This may not be your industry, but it is your future. If you look closely, small and big players in your industry probably have their eyes on adjacent possibilities. Look to see how you can innovate in your own industry, you might even be sitting on an idea that would make Apple jealous.
Images courtesy of Flickr, nhuisman, zhouxuan12345678.
More About: business, innovation, Opinion, tech, technologyFor more Tech & Gadgets coverage:Follow Mashable Tech & Gadgets on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Tech & Gadgets channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Posted on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 04:48:32 +0000 at http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/29XKei-1rQk/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/09/small-innovations/#comments
Everyone wants to create the next big thing. In the tech world, that desire has been translated as: “How can I invent the next iPad?”
The question, no matter how it’s asked, is the wrong one. When people ask about the next big thing, they see innovation as a linear progression toward some brand new, revolutionary technology. Naturally, everyone is trying to invent that new “thing,” but there is no straight line and no linear pattern to innovation.
Thanks to this demise of linear innovation, the next big thing isn’t going to take years of research and development. It won’t be developed in a big scientific lab by dozens of Ph.Ds; it won’t have a public launch date over which the press drools; and it won’t take years to generate millions of dollars.
Instead, the next big thing is going to come from left field. It will bundle together a patchwork of innovations in a seemingly amorphous way. The next big thing will be created by innovating the “adjacent possible.” The term was first used by Steven Johnson, who borrowed it from evolutionary biology. Basically, it refers to any innovation that stems directly from the present. The iPad, as an example, didn’t reinvent the wheel, but instead reapplied the concepts of Apple’s iPhone and laptops into a new, revolutionary product.
The genius of Apple’s accomplishment didn’t involve invention, but adjacent innovation — in effect, combining the best innovations of others to create a completely new and singular experience. Apple used the power of digital technology to spot, integrate, develop and deploy several adjacent innovations in a single product. That’s the central theory of innovating the adjacent possible: taking digital shortcuts to harness and combine adjacent innovations into a new thing.
Imagine, for example, the impact a digitally-integrated bathroom mirror would have on the fashion industry. It would be a digital display surface with a camera, options to connect over Wi-Fi, and even share updates through your social networks. By simply applying adjacent concepts, you could potentially transform the way L’Oreal, Procter & Gamble, Levi’s, Tesco, etc. do business.
This may not be your industry, but it is your future. If you look closely, small and big players in your industry probably have their eyes on adjacent possibilities. Look to see how you can innovate in your own industry, you might even be sitting on an idea that would make Apple jealous.
Images courtesy of Flickr, nhuisman, zhouxuan12345678.
More About: business, innovation, Opinion, tech, technologyFor more Tech & Gadgets coverage:Follow Mashable Tech & Gadgets on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Tech & Gadgets channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Posted on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 04:48:32 +0000 at http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/29XKei-1rQk/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/09/small-innovations/#comments