Innovation
Fractals, vectors and fragmented innovation effortsThe term fractal, from the Latin fractus, meaning “broken”, was coined by the mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot. He defines a fractal as “a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole.” They are a never-ending and chaotic pattern, created by repeating a simple process over and over again in an ongoing feedback loop. Ah, math.
As a numbers guy, fractals get my nerd juices flowing. But fractals also present a good analogy as firms push the boundaries between status quo and meaningful change, often by repeating the same innovation patterns that all firms are repeating, recursively and in a variety of sizes and shapes that all look very familiar. Beyond the beautifully complex and chaotic fractal imagery, what meaningful change occurs as a result these innovation efforts?
To answer that question, firms must define what ‘meaningful change’ means specifically to them, empirically and honestly. This requires doing the hard work of analyzing and diagnosing their business to understand it’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, the markets it serves, and the changes necessary to survive, grow and scale. In the corporate world, we call this strategy and competitive intelligence.
“…true innovation follows strategy and is guided by insights and analysis…”
Borrowing again from mathematics, innovation shouldn’t be an ever-spiraling and directionless fractal — it is a vector, which requires both direction and magnitude. It’s starting point and direction are determined by a thorough understanding of your competitive position and strategic direction, and it’s magnitude represents the innovation’s risk vs. reward. Without a starting point (problem), direction (goal) or magnitude (measurable ROI), innovation is nothing more than an abstract concept.
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