By its very nature, technology is about innovation.
Tech companies hire scores of people to tinker with tech, make it more efficient, and even find better solutions to what exists by engineering it themselves. It’s all about creating hardware, software, and solutions that make everyday lives easier. While innovation can strike anyone at any time, it’s not easy to brute-force your way to a new process or product that will change the state of play.
Still, it does happen. The tech industry stands as it does today because of a whole string of innovative moves. The challenge for firms is to create an environment in which innovative ideas are encouraged and can be fostered. By looking back at some prime examples of innovation across the world of technology, and getting some tips from leading innovators, perhaps your tech firm can increase its chances of finding that next great idea.
Modern Examples of Innovations in Tech
Easily the most prominent force in tech innovation over the last couple of decades has been Apple. Its co-founder, Steve Jobs, changed the world when he introduced the iPhone in 2007. On the day of the Macworld conference in January that year, he did say to the crowd: “We’re going to make history together today.” It completely changed the mobile industry, partly because of the absurdly intuitive touch screen on the device.
Apple has remained a prominent innovator since, continuing to release creative and very useful products like the iPad, MacBook Air, iPod Shuffle, and bigger and more powerful iPhones. Around Apple, several other innovative tech firms have risen. Nvidia is a prime example, with its chips being the primary component behind the current AI boom, while BYD has cracked the code for engineering ultra-affordable electric vehicles. Of course, these are some of the biggest tech companies in the world now, but innovations can come in much smaller sizes.
A hit innovation can be incredibly specific, as has been shown in the world of online gaming. Amongst the selection of jackpot slots available at an online casino, you’d expect to see progressive slots and themed video slots. What you might not have expected to see is the range of live roulette games, complete with interactive host. These are an innovative new form of games that use recent advancements in streaming technology to deliver an immersive experience to players at home.
Creating an Environment that Encourages Innovation
The companies that find themselves bringing innovative ideas to market don’t try to force their teams to come up with something in manufactured meetings. Rather, they foster an environment that encourages people to think outside the box and pursue their ideas. Speaking on innovation, Waguih Ishak of Corning in Silicon Valley says that you need to practice innovation parenting. This is to say that you should ground people in the accountability of the company and then allow them broad discretion to go about their work.
On top of this, you can find people who show signs of potentially innovative thinking. Strong soft skills, such as being eager to learn, working well in a team, and having values that align to those of the business can all help. So too can finding people who are intellectual, curious, and have that drive to solve the tough questions beyond their given role. It’s those people who won’t let a problem sit and just have to work it out who’ll prove to be very useful. Lastly, you need to have a positive attitude towards failure to encourage ideas to be expressed.
A light touch is often cited as the way to go if you want to cultivate an environment that could lead to innovative ideas. It’s about letting those who can think do so, giving them enough room to explore those ideas, and not punishing time lost to work on ideas that didn’t pan out.
