The New York Times published a list of “32 Innovations That Will Change Your Tomorrow,” an eclectic mix of concepts that range from the wild and wacky like SpeechJammer (#14) to more practical ideas like a blood test for depression (#25).
I analyzed each of the 32 concepts to see which ones could be explained by the five patterns of Systematic Inventive Thinking. These patterns are the “DNA” of products that can be extracted and applied to any product or service to create new-to-the-world innovations. Dr. Jacob Goldenberg found in his research that the majority of successful innovations conform to one or more of these patterns. Conversely, the majority of unsuccessful innovations (those that failed in the marketplace) do not conform to a pattern.
Based on my analysis, here is the breakdown of which pattern explains each innovation on the list:
- Task Unification: 9
- Attribute Dependency: 7
- Division: 3
- Subtraction: 3
- Multiplication: 3
- None of the above: 8
In other words, 24 of the 32 innovations in the New York Times list could be explained by the SIT patterns. The eight concepts that were not pattern based were either process or performance enhancements. For example, the carbon fiber bicycle frame (#9) is one of the eight. That does not mean these eight will not be successful. But based on Dr. Goldenberg’s research, the odds are they are less likely to succeed than if they had one of the patterns embedded inside. The patterns, in essence, are predictive of success.
A year of blogging in the innovation space has taught me a few things:
- Blogging is discovery. There are a lot of very bright people out there with many useful insights about how to make innovation happen. I’m impressed with the diversity of views as well as the constant stream of new thinking. Special recognition and thanks to:
- Amnon Levav, Yoni Stern, Jacob Goldenberg and the whole team at SIT for teaching me the method of innovating.
- Fellow bloggers like Jim Todhunter, Paul Sloane, Katy Konrath, Jeffrey Phillips, Keith Sawyer and many others for refreshing ideas about innovation.
- Chuck Frey for the way he recognizes and inspires others (thanks, Chuck!).
- Fellow J&J colleagues who push the envelope of innovation like Jeff Murphy, Mike Clem, Stuart Morgan, and Shelly Cropper.
- Blogging is hard work. It takes a constant sense of awareness of what’s going on around you to spot new blog ideas. To be a good blogger, you need to be even better at reading and commenting on other blogs (I learned this and everything else about blogging from Chris Allen).
- Blogging is a conversation. The long tail will prevail. (Read “The Cluetrain Manifesto” if you don’t believe me). I appreciate those of you who comment on this blog and take a different point-of-view. None of us is as smart as all of us.
- Blogging gets you noticed. Be careful what you say because people are paying attention. Readership of this blog is growing steadily, and the media and others are taking note.
What is ahead for 2009?
- The LAB: I enjoy this and I hope my readers do as well. My point is to spend an hour or two at most on a product or service, selected at random. Then I use an innovation tool to create interesting and useful new-to-the-world inventions. Innovation is a skill, not a gift, and anyone can learn it. My hope is to inspire others to do so.
- Innovation on Request: This is a new feature where I plan invite readers to submit things they need innovated. No strings attached, no property rights issues, no fees. Just pure innovation to continue to make the point that all of us need to acquire these skills if we want to remain productive and competitive in the global marketplace.
- Guest blogging on other sites. I like this idea, and I plan to follow through with other bloggers that have asked me to do that.
- New Blog Design: I will be launching a new blog design reflecting the theme of the corporate perspective. All businesses, large and small, need innovation. Within the corporate walls, innovation is sought after, brokered, and driven. The corporate perspective on what, why, when, who, and how innovation happens is the focus here. I want to continue sharing what’s inside those walls.
Drew