Management guru Peter Drucker was one of the first theorists of innovation who believed that innovation could be systematized in any organization. He wrote that purposeful innovation results from analysis, systemic review and hard work and can be taught, replicated and learned.
Purposeful, systemic innovation begins with the analysis of opportunities. The search must be organized and conducted on a regular basis. It seems that we may be getting hung up on “the fuzzy front end†and other views that make innovation seem really obscure. Drucker identified seven sources of opportunity that will ultimately drive innovation:
. The organization’s own unexpected successes and failures, and also those of the competition.
. Incongruities, especially those in a process, such as production, distribution, or incongruities in customer behavior.
. Process needs.
. Changes in industry and market structures.
. Changes in demographics.
. Changes in meaning and perception.
. New knowledge.
Read more: Peter Drucker on Innovation
