Creative Innovation - Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album The Fame (2008), which included the hits ‘Just Dance,’ ‘Poker Face,’ ‘Bad Romance’ and sold over 15 million copies worldwide. The album earned her six Grammy nominations and two wins as well as a slew of other awards recognition, including a record setting thirteen MTV Video Music Award nominations. Gaga is the first artist in history to claim four #1 hits from a debut album (ladygaga.com). 

However what makes her so special in comparison to other artists? It could be argued that it’s her creative innovation of what a pop star is that has given her the fame that she has. Despite her musical talents, it is her appearance that has really made her who she is. Her performances are described as ‘highly entertaining and innovative’ (Wikipedia.com). Her constantly changing and ever evolving image is an example of her innovativeness. Starting as a perfectly normal catholic girl in New York, Stephanie Germanotta, within the space of a few years (around 2005-2010) transformed herself into Lady Gaga.            

                                                                                                                                                              

Many of her outfits have been extraordinarily creative and some have even caused controversy with the likes of animal rights. Such as the meat dress that she wore to the MTV video music awards.

It has to be questioned, what lies behind the ideas for all of these bizarre outfits? Is it the designs of others or does it all come from lady gaga herself?

On some of her less outrageous days, Lady Gaga’s outfits resemble the catwalk designs of the likes of Yves Saint Laurent, Fendi or Alexander McQueen (gagafashionland.com). However on the more noticeable days it appears that Gaga herself is behind the ideas. Some examples of her weird yet wonderful ideas for outfits are the likes of her latex dresses. The woman herself stated that the inspiration for her outfit was ‘latex condoms’ (mtv.com) as the event she was attending was to do with safe sex. Another is her Diana inspired outfits in her music video for the song ‘Paparazzi’, she states that she uses Diana as a fashion inspiration because she was ‘the most iconic martyr of fame’ (mtv.com) these examples suggest that Lady Gaga takes an idea or a situation or another style, and then creatively innovates it to make it into something that means something to her.

Despite where or how she comes up with the innovations that she does whether it is music or clothing, she still remains one of the most famous icons on the planet. She obviously does not lack creativity and has the ability to take ideas and create them into something that as of yet no one else seems to be able to come up with. Lady Gaga I think is a prime example of creative innovation.

References

MTV (2011) [online]. Available from: http://www.mtv.co.uk/news/lady-gaga/258794-lady-gaga-condom-born-this-way-aids-safe-sex [Accessed: 13 November 2011].

Gaga Fashion Land (2011) [online]. Available from: http://gagafashionland.com/  [Accessed: 13 November 2011].

MTV (2011) [online]. Available from:  http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1620578/lady-gaga-inspired-by-princess-diana.jhtml [Accessed: 13 November 2011].

Wikidedia (2011) [online]. Lady Gaga Lets It Bleed During Eye-Popping VMA Performance Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Gaga [Accessed: 13 November 2011].

Creativity and Innovation

The dictionary definition of creativity is that it ‘relates to or involves the use of the imagination or original ideas to create something’ (Oxford Dictionary Online). However Bessant and Tidd quite rightly point out ‘being creative at work is not the same as having a creative job’ (2011, p156). This is completely true as being creative at work could relate to an artist or a graphic designer, however having a creative job could involve; having the confidence to ‘adopt non-conformist perspectives, take risks or act without social approval or dependence’ (Bessant and Tidd, 2011, p157). Although not the typical depiction of creativity these different actions could ultimately lead to a creative outcome.

Generic creative people are said to be ‘unaccustomed to staying within set borders’ and require an open and free environment in which to think’ (Goldenberg et al, 2002, p32). However it is also appropriate to state that some extreme creativity comes from people who are deemed to have ‘mental disturbances or mood disorders’ (Goldenberg et al, 2002, p32). It is also stated that the correlation between madness and genius is ‘one of the most controversial of all notions’ (Goldenberg et al, 2002, p32). Not only that, it has been said that disorders such as depression can in fact enhance of sometimes otherwise contribute to creativity (Goldenberg et al, 2002, p32). However is would be ridiculous to believe that any company that is deemed creative consists of manic depressants and mentally disturbed employees. So it has to then be questioned, how do companies achieve creativity?

The concept of a virtuous circle, shown below (Trott, 2008, p97), of innovation highlights certain stages that an organisation will go through when innovating. The concept of this circle is that if a company can gain a competitive edge then they are able to reinvest the additional profit into the activities that created the advantage to begin with (Trott, 2008, p97).   

One of the stages is the ‘organisational encouragement of creativity and innovation’. This suggests that the organisation itself plays a significant role in the creativity of innovation, I believe that this may be one of the most important stages of the circle as if the organisation does not encourage creativity then essentially there is no point having creative people to create new ideas. Trott states that organisations support innovation with ‘resources’, i.e. ‘people with the time to be creative’ (2008, p98). Conway and Steward extend this in saying that ‘it is the encouragement of the organisation that impacts creativity and innovativeness’ of said individuals (2009, p300). Additionally, in order for an organisation to be creative it has to ‘build an environment that tolerates errors and mistakes’ (Trott, 2008, p98).  This leeway would give the creative individuals the time and space to try new ideas, hopefully resulting in the organisation developing new, creative innovations. It is also beneficial for organisations to not only encourage and support creativity but also to reward it as all of these ‘play a positive role in creative innovation’ (Conway and Steward, 2009, p300). Reward and recognition will also will also help the ‘high morale and retention of creative people’ stage of the circle as if individuals feel that they are valued then they are more likely to remain in the same organisation. Retention of creative individuals should ‘reinforce the company’s innovative capabilities’ (Trott, 2008, p98).    

In conclusion it is highly likely from my research that success in all areas of the virtuous circle of innovation will ensure that organisations are innovative and achieve creativity.  

References

Bessant, J. Tidd, J. (2011) Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Second Edition. UK: John Wiley and Sons Ltd.

Conway, S. Steward, F. (2009). Managing and Shaping Innovation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Goldenberg, J. Mazursky, D. (2002). Creativity in Product Innovation. Cambridge: University Press.

Trott, P. (2008). Innovation Management and New Product Development. Fourth Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd.

Medical Innovation – Stem Cells

Stem cells are a widely discussed concept, which is rapidly becoming reality. The idea that one cell can be ‘harvested’ into millions of new cells to aid medical procedures was first brought about in the 1800s when it was discovered that cells were the bases of all life, and they had the ability to replicate to multiply producing other cells.

Stem cells are biological cells which can divide and differentiate into different specialized cells. In 1978, stem cells were discovered in the spinal cord. The potential for stem cells is unthinkable. Since the discovery of the cells, innovation has taken charge allowing the development of the likes of growing new skin cells for burn victims. In October 2011, BBC news covered the procedure in which abnormal liver cells were treated using stem cells to create a whole new healthy liver.

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15288736 )

In previous years Blockbuster films such as ‘The Island’ have portrayed stem cell innovation to its maximum depicting the creation of whole new humans, from single cells. Though this concept seems unrealistic and farfetched, in reality, through stem cell innovation this may in the future become a possibility.

However there are many ethical issues surrounding this concept, preventing fast progression in this area.

By coming up with or ‘innovating’ new ways to manipulate these types of cells, the likes of cancer, brain damage, spinal cord injury, heart damage, diabetes, infertility and many more could all be cured.

The UK Stem Cell Foundation are dedicated to all things stem cell. Their site has some very interesting facts about stem cells and the research and treatments that go with them.

( http://www.ukscf.org/research/benefitsandhopes.html )

What is Innovation? - Peter F Drucker, The principals of Innovation.

Although Drucker is not known in direct relevance to innovation, in fact he is known best by others as the ‘founding father of the study of management’ (peterfdrucker.com). However, despite this he has made some significant contributions to the ways we can view the concept of innovation. One way that he has done this is through his ‘Innovation Award’ which is given each year to a non profit innovative company.

( http://www.druckerinstitute.com/link/nonprofit-innovation-award/ )

Drucker’s other contributions to innovation are mainly shown within his book ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurship’, which I have found hugely helpful in terms of understanding what the process of innovation actually is.

Drucker highlights some key principals of innovation, stating firstly, that all innovation ‘begins with the analysis of opportunities’ (p122, 1985). This suggests that having a firm idea of what is wanted to be achieved is crucial, before innovation even begins.

He goes on to explain that innovation is both ‘conceptual and perceptual’ and that successful innovators ‘look at figures and look at people’ (p124, 1985). These quotes suggest that in order for the innovation to be successful, significant research has to be undertaken in the form of ‘look, ask, listen’ in order to work out ‘analytically what the innovation has to be in order to satisfy an opportunity’ (p124, 1985). An example of this is the innovation of the vacuum cleaners by Dyson. Notably the ‘Dyson DC24 Animal’.

This has taken the usual form of a vacuum cleaner only it has encompassed a ball into the structure allowing a wider range of movement, resulting in easier vacuuming. Research for this innovation must have consisted of Drucker’s ‘look, ask, listen’ concept in order to understand the needs, expectations and values of the customers. Only then can innovation begin.

Drucker’s third principal states that in order for an innovation to be effective ‘it has to be simple and focused’ (p124,1985). This deems true as if an innovation is extremely complicated and then goes wrong, it would be far more difficult to fix than if the innovation was simple. This implies that an innovation should be focused on satisfying one simple need instead of trying to do it all.

Lastly Drucker concludes that effective innovations ‘start small’ (p124,1985), suggesting that ‘industry changing’ ideas rarely work. This could be the case due to the fact that starting small allows for adjustments to be made slowly and effectively and the innovation matures. If an innovation was too big there would most likely be too many adjustments to handle properly, resulting in the innovation failing.

After reading through these parts of Drucker’s book, I now feel like I have a good understanding of what innovation is; i.e. a change or modification, or even a completely new concept or idea, that will somehow benefit the needs of the consumer. Also within the principals of Innovation that Drucker highlights there is a clear outline of a process; i.e. finding and opportunity, researching the opportunity and whether or not it would be successful, and then creating the innovation simply and on a small scale in order to be able to easily fix problems or adjust.

References

Drucker, P F. (1985). Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Oxford: Butterworth-Heineman.  

What is Innovation? - A look into the world of Innovating.

When a person is asked to define innovation, it is very rare that they will have one single answer that defines innovation perfectly, as it is such a broad and varied concept. Trott makes an excellent point in stating that despite the fact that the term innovation is ‘widely accepted’, it is ‘unknown to what extent the understanding of innovation is shared’ (p4, 2002). This is an interesting statement as it has highlighted the fact that innovation may be seen differently by people in different situations, for example; a scientist and an artist’s view on innovation will most likely be vastly different. So for the sake of personal relevance, I am going to explore the theory behind innovation in terms of Business.    

Innovation is the use of knew knowledge to offer a new product of service that customers want (Afauh, 1998, p13). Westland describes innovation to be a ‘product of service with a bundle of features that is new in the market’ (p6, 2008), or a product that is ‘commercialised in a new way that opens up new uses and consumer groups’ (p6,2008). These definitions are essentially saying the same thing, that innovation in some way brings new ideas and turns them into something that the customers and the market want. Conway and Steward extend these statements by saying that innovation ‘is not a single action’ (p10, 2009). They state that it is ‘a total process of interrelated sub processes, that eventually leads to successful exploitation of ideas’ (Conway and Steward, p10,2009).

Afuah states that innovation takes two forms within a Business. Firstly there is Radical innovation; an innovation is said to be radical if ‘the technology required to exploit it is different to existing technology, rendering existing technology obsolete’ (1998, p14). An example of this may be the likes of AOL’s instant messenger. AOL was the first to launch an internet wide GUI based messenger service in May 1997. For many internet users this provided a revolutionary new way to communicate in real time between two or more computers / electronic devices (innovation-creativity.com).

The second for of innovation is incremental innovation. The knowledge required for this ‘builds on existing knowledge’ (Afuah, 1998, p14). And example of an incremental innovation is Intel’s Pentium 4. Intel introduced the Pentium 4 computer processor chip as an incremental improvement to the Pentium 3 chip. Both chips had the same basic technology but the Pentium 4 introduced new design improvements and additional features to improve the chips overall performance (innovation-creativity.com).  

These innovations suggest that the product created is ‘so superior that that existing products are rendered non competitive’ (Afuah, 1998, p15), this is an example of the professed ‘economic competitiveness view, and is displayed in the diagram below (Afuah, 1998, p15)

References

 

Afuah, A. (1998). Innovation Management: Strategies, Implementation and Profits. New York: Oxford Press University Inc.

Drucker, P F. (1985). Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Oxford: Butterworth-Heineman. 

Conway, S. Steward, F. (2009). Managing and Shaping Innovation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Trott, P. (2008). Innovation Management and New Product Development. Fourth Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd.

Westland, J C. (2008). Global Innovation Management. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Innovation Creativity. (2010) Radical Innovations. [online]. Accessed from: http://www.innovation-creativity.com/radical-innovation.html [Accessed: 27 October 2011].

Innovation Creativity. (2010) Incremental Innovations. [online]. Accessed from: http://www.innovation-creativity.com/incremental-innovation.html Accessed: 27 October 2011].

                

What Is Innovation? - Famous Innovators.

What is Innovation? Before beginning to try to answer a question as vast as this, I have put together some examples of famous innovators.

Famous Innovators:

• Steve Jobs: Co Founder of Apple Inc, http://www.apple.com/

Jobs is known mostly for the introduction of the iPod around 2001, iTunes, and the iTunes Store. Jobs is also responsible for Apple entering the mobile phone market with the introduction of the iPhone around 2007, which contains not only mobile phone capabilities, but also an iPod, and internet connection abilities. This is just a mere scraping on the surface of the work that Jobs has done with innovation. Jobs has been known to say the likes of ‘Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.’ And through innovation he hopes to have ‘put a ding in the universe.’

Cited from: (http://www.macstories.net/roundups/inspirational-steve-jobs-quotes/)

• Mark Zuckerberg: Creator of Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/

Zuckerberg launched Facebook in 2004, from Harvard University. In 2010 it was stated that there were 500 million users of Facebook around the world. Zuckerberg at only 27 is one of Vanity Fair’s most influential icons in the world. However the innovation of Facebook came from the simple idea that people want to ‘communicate more efficiently with their friends, families and coworkers.’ Through Zuckerberg’s innovation, this small idea has, in effect, permanently changed the way that people around the world stay in contact.

Cited from: (http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?execbios)

• Sir Isaac Newton: physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian. Also creator of the reflecting telescope, http://www.newton.ac.uk/newtlife.html  

Newton attended Cambridge University, which is where he had his first thoughts about the concept of Gravity. After attending Cambridge it was then that Newton began his research on the composition of light where he found that ‘white light is composed of the same system of colours that can be seen in a rainbow’ and therefore establishing the ‘modern study of optics,’  thus creating the reflecting telescope. This shows that even in the 1600s innovation was thriving. We accept the fact that a rainbow is a certain composition of light, and when we drop something, usually it will hit the floor. However it is because of Newton that this concept is so acceptable. His innovations of these concepts are some of the reasons that we live the way we do today.   

Cited from: (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/newton_isaac.shtml)

·        Salvatore Ferragamo: Creator of Stilettos, http://www.ferragamo.com/ 

In 1919 Ferragamo opened his first shoe shop in New York. Within the 1920s to the 1940s was the time in which Ferragamo used innovation to turn the bog standard shoe into the likes of the sandal, wedge heel and the stiletto. Thinking about the vast amount of different styles of both men and women’s shoe that are available today, or any shoe that has been created since the early 1900s, all of them have been created using the ideas that were first formed by Ferragamo. It was through the innovative ideas that came from Salvatore Ferragamo that any of this was possible.

Cited from: (http://www.ferragamo.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Top%20Categories_30151_%2035051#/celebrities/11428/13002)

 

Welcome

Welcome to my Innovation blog. This is a blog centred on the concept of Innovation. However the blog, naturally, will be discussion based, focusing on questions such as; What is Innovation? How does Innovation occur? Why is Innovation so important? and, What makes a good Innovator? Most likely there will be other questions that become relevant along the way, but I am going to use these 4 questions to form the core material for this blog.