What We Did: What
exactly is innovation? Coming into this class I honestly couldn’t tell you. But
this knowledge deficiency quickly changed. Our first BMGT289 class was spent
talking about innovation and what it truly was. Innovation is the process of
having original ideas and insights with value, then implementing them so that
they are accepted and used by many. I learned that this is truly the basis of
all competition that takes place in today’s society, particularly in the U.S.
Our lecture concentrated a lot on the concept of creativity,
which is what leads to innovation. Expertise and creative thinking are an
individual’s raw materials. Motivation is what puts these raw materials to
work. Creativity CAN be taught, learned and practiced. Creativity comes from play,
passion and purpose. Additionally, I was introduced to the Innovator’s DNA. The major steps involved
in the innovation process are association, questioning, observing, networking,
and experimenting.
Key Takeaways and
Future Applications: This first lecture served as a really good
introduction to the idea of innovation and how important it really is for my
future. It opened my eyes to the urgency for my generation to think ahead. In
today’s age of technology, so many jobs are being automated. Therefore, we
can’t keep doing what we have been in the past – its time to think outside the
box.
Our country depends on innovation to have a successful
economy – it drives us to the next level and allows us to remain globally
competitive. Older markets are under tremendous pressure, so we need an entire
generation of innovators to remain globally competitive. The first company that
comes to mind when I think of U.S. innovation is Apple. Apple is able to
“disrupt” the marketplace simply because of its experimentation, curiosity, and
its willingness to take risks. Of course, Apple employees don’t always succeed
right away; it took repeated failure and the motivation to keep trying to get
them where they are today. I really admire Apple and Steve Jobs especially for being
able to fail so many times but still keep trying. Fear of failure is definitely
something I struggle with. At times I feel like it’s really hard for me to be
positive when thinking about the future. I tend to always expect the worst
possible outcome in a lot of situations. I think this is because I don’t have a
set plan that I follow in life. Right now I’m just taking things day by day and
that creates anxiety, because the future is so uncertain. I know that failure
is inevitable somewhere down the road, and a lot of times it can be a good
thing. So I’m hoping this class can help me get over this stigma of failure, or
at least help me combat it in new ways.
I applied the lessons from this lecture to think differently
about business. I couldn’t help but wonder what life would be without the
products we accept as commonplace today. Without such brilliant minds at Apple,
I wouldn’t be here typing this paper today because I would be without my
precious MacBook laptop. With this observation I asked myself – what if Apple
had never created the MacBook? I have a lot of trouble even imagining one day
without my cherished laptop. However, if it had never been created, I would have
no idea what I was missing. I think that’s the point of innovation – creating
things we didn’t even know we needed, and then not knowing what we would do
without them.
I was also pretty pleased when I learned that creativity
actually could be taught. As of now I don’t consider myself a super creative
person. I feel like I have random thoughts of brilliance, but if I was asked to
come up with an inventive idea on the spot, I would have nothing. Today’s class
made me optimistic because I now know that my creativity isn’t gone forever, it
can be practiced, relearned and aimed toward new endeavors.
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