The concepts of innovation and design, while hot topics to be sure, spur a great deal of conversation and result in many questions for us at BMGI. Perhaps the most basic—and frequent question we get is, “what is innovation and what’s the difference between innovation and design.” And we’re glad you asked…
There have been many definitions of innovation put forth over the past few years. We like to keep it simple. We believe innovation is all about “connecting the dots” in new and different ways than others (primarily your competitors). Innovations don’t need to be big, but they should be bold. If you’re doing something different for you and your customers, whether someone has done it before in some other industry, we don’t care. We think you’re innovating.
Design on the other hand is about adding form to function. It’s about how an innovative idea is actually put into practice: how it looks, how it feels, how it works.
BMGI’s overarching methodology for Design and Innovation is featured in the best selling book, The Innovator’s Toolkit: 50+ Tools for Sustainable Organic Growth. Using its proprietary methodology known as D4, BMGI’s team of researchers , led by Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Phil Samuel, developed this methodology.
There are a number of tools and techniques introduced in The Innovator’s Toolkit that have broad applicability beyond what might otherwise be thought of as innovation and design. These problem solving tools are focused on gaining insight into markets, customers and other dimensions of the future and include:
- The Job-to-be-Done
- The Value Quotient
- Ethnography
- Resource Optimization
- Functional Analysis
- Ideality and the Ideal Final Result
- Structured Abstraction
- The Separation Principles
- Biomimicry
- 76 Standard Solutions
- Axiomatic Design
To learn more about how to transform your business, call a BMGI expert today at +1 303-827-0010.