Where is Innovation located?

As I have said many times in the past, most people are focused on continous improvement (making what they currently do better, faster, higher quality, more value). In the past, this was fine and organizations were successful in this approach. However, competitors can now enter markets faster and cheaper. Instead of continous improvement, you need continous innovation to truly be successful. This means that you need to reinvent the way you do things (dont get caught up in the innovator's dilemna, because you might have a nice business now, but tomorrow, someone will sneak up on you). Therefore, you need to be always ahead of the game.

Now, the funny thing about innovation is that it is not a person, a place, or a thing. It is just like reading, writing, and arithmetic! It's everywhere and nowhere. Most people I talk to do not get the concept. If you put someone in charge of innovation, all of sudden, this one person is suppose to deliver innovation on all product lines . . . that is not how innovation happens. Again, it is not a place, it is EVERYONE's role to be innovators because each of us knows something or talks to clients about what ultimately is needed in the marketplace. A person responsible for innovation is not the person doing innovation but is facilitating the innovation processes throughout the organization and making sure obstacles are eliminated in achieving innovation.

So, when someone ask where is innovation located? Look at mirror!