Why don't we innovate?

Innovation is now-a-days a buzzword and someone or the other is always talking about it. We should first understand what is 'we' in 'Why don't we innovate'? Whom does it refer to ? What is the scope of innovation here?. Although I am writing this based on my experience in IT, it can be applicable to any field.

The first thing we should ask is have we defined 'we' properly. Is it an individual or a team or an organization? It does make a difference since there has to be some owner who should drive it.The second is regarding the meaning of innovation itself. Is it a new idea directly leading to a product or service or any potential revenue generator or can it be a methodology or process which is claimed to add value to a product or service indirectly. Both these things should be very clear. The third thing is the committment or seriousness in really innovating it. Is it because we want to be prepared for tomorrow to take on competition or do we need it to grow or survive or we want to do it just because it is a buzzword or someone else is doing it. Whoever is doing should be very clear and believe in it.

Any attempt for innovation should be goal driven and one should be clear why it is being done, what is that will be attempted to be achieved and how will it be sold in the market. This will form the core vision and all the stakeholders should deeply believe and feel it. Once a team is formed and trained with innovation tools & techniques, complete freedom & time should be given. One cannot merge this activity with something that a team is doing. For eg : If a team is involved in a project or working as innovation facilitating team, they cannot be owners of this excercise(They can however attempt to innovate but not with this purpose). So, essentially an investment has to be made and then thought process and idea generation should just be nurtured. It will take time and evolve and hence there has to patience.

My stand on innovation is that it is currently happening(without many people noticing) in an unstructured way at different levels(individual level or project level or even organization level) but it gets stuck at particular stage since there is no direction or proper goal set or even commitment. The innovation I am referring to can be small idea, smart way of doing things or doing it differently or a saleable service offering but all on a small scale level. Some examples include conceptualizing a design, automating a process, reusing things or a combination of things. I have seen this happening in bits and pieces and usually as a secondary activity of an individual purely out of personal interest. If we really want to innovate at a much higher level, we have to put a conscious effort, be serious, be committed and action oriented and give our best. There will be lot of bottlenecks in the way but that is what will make the journey interesting, challenging and finally rewarding. After all, there is buzz in the market that one who innovates will survive in the market! (although I think it might be one of the best ways but not the only way).