What is the purpose of innovation?

Profit. Generally speaking, I could finish this post because most people working in innovation will confirm this. But I prefer to use a different word: benefit. Profit must go hand in hand with money. The benefit has such an advantage that you can apply it in a much broader scope. Moreover, the profit is limited to the circle of people connected with the project. Benefits have one more advantage over profit. Many more people can benefit from them. Money is essential, and a lot can depend on it. If the project does not earn money, there is a risk that nobody will want to sponsor a bottomless pit. But, by specifying your project’s main assumptions, you can also decide how you would like to monetize it. Thinking about money at the concept stage makes it difficult to develop the idea into action.

It is better to think about potential benefits. What problems will our innovation solve? Who will benefit from it? What can we do better? What can we learn? What experiences can we gain? How will the project enrich our team? Will we set new paths? Can we earn money from it? There can be many similar questions about potential benefits. As you can see, benefits are more than profit. You can organize them within:

People

People love to make things easier. Everyone wants to do everything more straightforward, faster, and more enjoyable. By introducing an innovation that aims to solve people’s problems, you will gain their favor. You may find that the innovation you are introducing may benefit a larger audience than you have initially planned.

Knowledge

Each new project is a unique experience. The knowledge gained during its implementation will pay off in the future. By making mistakes, you’re learning how not to repeat them in the future. You can use new solutions  in other activities;

Brand

An innovative product or an attractive solution is something that others like to discuss. By doing something creative, you get free advertising. Even if they don’t write about it well. That’s why it is a good idea to brand quickly your best and most innovative products!

Environment

All you partners with whom you cooperate can be beneficial as well. It will make it easier to involve them in new projects in the future. The benefits of supporting your environment can be much more. By helping others, we can also get support ourselves. We also build a reputation. You never know what new contacts acquired in this way will be useful in the future.

Team & organization

Each interesting project strengthens the company and gives confidence to its employees. Everyone wants to work in a place where exciting and innovative things happen. The atmosphere in a team proud of their achievements is better than in other workplaces. An extra benefit for the organization is also profit.

Money is not everything. But, without it, many projects wouldn’t have the slightest chance to be completed. There is time for everything during the project, so there will also be a moment to make money. Founders of Facebook did not think about money when he created his work. The money came later. Today they’re a wealthy man. Larry Page and Sergei Brin also did not care about money when they started Google. The development of the company required a massive amount of money. With some problems, they managed to raise funds for the development of the enterprise.. They developed a strategy for traffic monetization long after they started their company. The common element of these projects was thinking about the benefits. Their creators wanted to give the world something to make exploration of the internet much more comfortable. They succeeded. The effects exceeded their wildest notions. So please do not think only about profit. Think about the benefits!

Author: Wojciech Drewczyński