Succeed in innovation
If you want to succeed in innovation; aim high. Most effective innovators focus on solving BIG problems. They also see innovation as a means to an end, not the end goal.
In contrast, less effective innovators focus their innovation investments on incremental improvements to existing products and services. Several practices stand out when looking at effective innovators:
1) There's a greater emphasis on developing unique technological advances with the potential to create entirely new markets.
2) They deliberately target consumers’ “higher needs”; such as autonomy, happiness, and social connections.
3) They develop comprehensive approaches to pursuing innovation vs. applying an ad-hoc creative process.
4) They invest more to develop the capabilities of senior leaders tasked with overseeing innovation-led change and build the skills of the entire organization.
Innovation will always be hard, and companies that both aim high and develop comprehensive capabilities are more likely to emerge as winners.