INNOVATION  By  Ravi  Amba+pudi  

 My  presenta+on  on  innova+on  to  several  Young  Scholars  at  Greene  Scholar’s  Program    I  presented  this  also  at  other  forums  on  innova+on  

What’s the first thing that comes to mind?  

Innova+on  is  everywhere  

But  what  is  innova+on?  

Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, services, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society. Innovation differs from invention in that innovation refers to the use of a new idea or method, whereas invention refers more directly to the creation of the idea or method itself.

Wikipedia definition:

Albert  Einstein   Henry  Ford   Gerald  Lawson  

Thomas  Edison  

Steve  Jobs  

Sarah    Breedlove  Walker  

Bill  Gates  

Alexander  Graham  Bell  

Inventor    

•  Creates  a  new  idea  •  Original  idea  or  concept  

Innovator  

•  Uses  a  new  idea  to  make  a  change  

•  Commercializes  the  idea  •  Delivers  a  change  to  the  

society  –  Employment  –  Wealth  –  BeKer  life  

Innova+on  changes  people’s  lives  

In  big  ways….  

And  in  small  ways…  

How  does  innova+on  happen?  

Innova+on  begins  with  an  idea    

Great  ideas  solve  a  problem,  an  unmet  need  

Where  do  great  ideas  come  from?  

•  Look  for  problems  to  solve    

How  do  you  find  the  problem?  

Don’t  worry…We  human  beings  have  plenty  of  problems  

We  humans  like  to  move  around  

Henry  Ford  

Ques+on:    How  can  we  make  horses  run  even  faster?  

Un+l  we  complained  again    

And  then  we  solved  the  human  problem…  

Wright  Brothers  

Ques+on:    How  can  we  fly  like  birds?      

Our  Journey  Con+nues  

We  humans  like  to  talk  

Alexander  Graham  Bell  

Ques+on:    How  can  we  talk  over  long  distances?  

Thomas  Edison  

Ques+on:    How  can  I  see  in  the  darkness?  

Where  do  great  ideas  come  from?  

•  Look  for  problems  to  solve  •  Ask  Ques+ons-­‐  what,  when,  why,  how  

Speed  with  which  objects  fall  is  related  to  the  mass  of  the  object  

   

Aristotle’s  ideas  were  believed  to  be  true  from  500BC  to  1600AD,  

Un+l…………  

Speed  with  which  objects  fall  is  independent  of    the  mass    

hKp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlkerIq6DV8  

Where  do  great  ideas  come  from?  

•  Look  for  problems  to  solve  •  Ask  Ques+ons  •  Challenge  the  norm  •  It’s  never  too  late  

Sir  Alexander  Fleming,  Nobel  laureate  Inventor  of  Penicillin  

A.A.  Penzias  and  R.W.  Wilson  Nobel  prize  winners:    The  Echo  of  Big  Bang  

Ultrasensi+ve  horn  antenna  

Serendipity  Prepare  yourself  for  luck  

Immerse  yourself  in  the  environment  

Where  do  great  ideas  come  from?  

•  Look  for  problems  to  solve  •  Ask  Ques+ons  •  Challenge  the  norm  •  It’s  never  too  late  •  Serendipity  

MSRP:  200K$   MSRP:  2K$  

Where  do  great  ideas  come  from?  

•  Look  for  problems  to  solve  •  Ask  Ques+ons  •  Challenge  the  norm  •  It’s  never  too  late  •  Serendipity  •  Get  Closer  

?  

History  Repeats  Itself  

Innova+on  can  be  incremental  

Where  do  great  ideas  come  from?  

•  Look  for  problems  to  solve  •  Ask  Ques+ons  •  Challenge  the  norm  •  It’s  never  too  late  •  Serendipity  •  Get  Closer  •  History  repeats  itself  •  Look  for  incremental  improvements  

hKp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f44NAOm-­‐7ZE  

Count  how  many  +mes  the  team  wearing  white  shirts  passes  the  ball  

2006  Nokia  Market  leader  1  out  of  every  3  phones  sold  in  the  world  Leader  in  cell  phone  technology  Stock  price  ~40$    

2012  Nokia  Severely  struggling  Lost  posi+on  to  Apple,  Google  and  Samsung  Stock  price  ~2.5$  

The  illusion  of  knowledge  

Avoid  complacency  Assume  you  don’t  know  anything  

Don’t  miss  the  obvious  

Where  do  great  ideas  come  from?  •  Look  for  problems  to  solve  •  Ask  Ques+ons  •  Challenge  the  norm  •  It’s  never  too  late  •  Serendipity  •  Get  Closer  •  History  repeats  itself  •  Look  for  incremental  improvements  •  Don’t  miss  the  obvious  

Steve  Jobs  and  Steve  Wozniak   Bill  Gates  and  Paul  Allen  

Larry  Page  and  Sergey  Brin  Marie  and  Pierre  Curie  

Teamwork  

Where  do  great  ideas  come  from?  •  Look  for  problems  to  solve  •  Ask  Ques+ons  •  Challenge  the  norm  •  It’s  never  too  late  •  Serendipity  •  Get  Closer  •  History  repeats  itself  •  Look  for  incremental  improvements  •  Don’t  miss  the  obvious  •  Work  in  teams-­‐  Nobody’s  perfect  

Listen  to  your  mother  

hKp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb0ssmoXG1I  

Where  good  ideas  come  from-­‐    Steven  Jackson  

Some  Good  Sources  of  Innova+on  •  Chris  Chabris  and  Daniel  Simons,  “The  Invisible  

Gorilla:  How  our  Intui+ons  Deceive  Us”.    

•  Nassim  Nicholas  Taleb,  “The  Black  Swan”.  

•  Malcolm  Gladwell,  “Blink:  The  Power  of  Thinking  

without  Thinking”.  

•  David  Eagleman,  “Incognito:  The  Secret  Lives  of    the  

Brain”.