Businesses are desperate for innovation like Hollywood is desperate for beauty, both act like they already have it, both fear they don’t have enough, and both try to get more by injecting poisons directly into their faces. Ok, my analogy may need some work.

But, there is a real truth in this comparison. “Beauty” can be redefined and expanded to become more inclusive. That’s a great thing. We in the business community have actually done the same thing with the word “innovation”. Have a creative idea? It’s an innovation! Solved a problem in a clever way? That’s innovative! The word has become diluted, making it harder to identify the things that are truly innovative. Combine that with studies that show that only 9% of companies are truly innovating and you can see that we have a disconnect.

What we have is a lack of specificity. Let’s use Clayton Christensen’s work as a starting point. Here’s a brief summary:

• Disruptive Innovation
  • New products or business models that apply a different set of values and alter the competitive landscape by creating a new market and eventually altering existing markets.
• Sustaining Innovation
  • An innovation that does not affect existing markets. There are two types:
    • Evolutionary Innovation
      • An innovation that improves a product in a way that customers are expecting.
    • Revolutionary Innovation
      • An innovation that is unexpected, but nevertheless does not affect existing markets.