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The Secret Magic Mathematic Formula of Innovation! http://www.strategy­of­innovation.com/article­the­secret­magic­mathematic­formula­of­innovation­99318843.html   

Because of the globalization of business, commercial competition is everyday harder and harder. To                           maintain a leader position, or just to survive, companies must propose rapidly and efficiently to their                               clients new attractive goods and/or services. For this, they have to innovate, to evolve by creating new                                 market opportunities or by adapting themselves to changing markets. Therefore, as a responsible CEO or Manager, you know that:   

"YOU MUST INNOVATE!"   

.... but how?!       

   For the very first time in the history, I will reveal the "Secret Magic Mathematic Formula of Innovation"                                   used by Apple, Google, 3M .... . Hereafter, the full demonstration to obtain the formula with which you                                   will innovate safely, without any uncertainty.   Let's start: 

● You need some "Explicit Knowledge" or simply "Knowledge" Knowledge (including all your know­what, know­why, know­who) is everywhere, you can acquire it                         from your parents and family, during studies at school and higher education, by reading books, articles                               or blogs, by observing carefully the world around you ... . But Knowledge without Imagination = An inert book (handbook, textbook, articles, encyclopedia or                         any other data in a data container such a digital database or the mass of your brain in your skull!) 

● You need some "Imagination" But Imagination without Knowledge = Production of ideas (good and bad ones), useless by itself. 

Ari MASSOUDI / http://www.strategy­of­innovation.com/  / http://www.linkedin.com/in/arimassoudi  

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● You need some Tacit Knowledge or simply "Know­how" But Know­how alone = Craft = A useful skill but without a mission, still valueless and (Imagination + Know­how) without Knowledge = Creativity = A piece of art, maybe beautiful (or not)                               but still useless! 

● If you add all the previous ingredients together, you could get: Knowledge + Imagination + Know­how = Invention   But "Invention" alone = a (tangible or intangible) prototype ... or just a gadget!   

● Therefore, you have to add something (X) to the invention to transform it into innovation. Here                               the final equation: 

  Invention + X = Innovation X = Entrepreneurship   

Invention + Entrepreneurship = Innovation   But something sounds wrong with this formula! 

 We cannot predict the future, and therefore we cannot predict if a (Invention + Entrepreneurship) can                               become an innovation. Indeed, we can judge if an invention brought into the market is an innovation (or                                   not = a fail), only in posteriori. 

 What we have learned in posteriori from all innovations (or what one could name business successes): A) All innovations have had needed around 35% of Invention (Creativity, R&D, Know­how,                         Conception, ...) and 75% of Entrepreneurship! (These percentages are in relation of the use of investment done by innovative companies) B) All Innovations have in common to have created new behaviours of users, new uses and meanings                               and therefore new knowledge.   So the final equation could be:   

Invention + Entrepreneurship = Innovation + "New­Knowledge"  

A) Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is the energy, resources and leadership needed to change, with the use of the                             invention, the behaviour of users, consumers. Therefore, a good CEO, managing an innovation project,                         must want to change the world, or at minimum the world of his customers! Entrepreneurship is not an exact science. It's a mix of talent, leadership, opportunism, business                           sense/business education/business know­how, financial resources, .... and some Luck! 

Ari MASSOUDI / http://www.strategy­of­innovation.com/  / http://www.linkedin.com/in/arimassoudi  

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  Entrepreneurship = Talent + Leadership + Business sense/education/know­how + Financial resources                   + Opportunism + Luck 

● Talent is innate and cannot be learned! ● Leadership can be innate or can be learned in business schools, in books, blogs and websites,                             

or from a Mentor. ● Business sense/business education/business know­how can be learned (= Rational analysis of                   

the business opportunity: Strategy and Business Model, Marketing, Business planning ...). ● Opportunism and Luck may be provocated by developing a good "Life and Social Skills". Be                             

curious and have thirst of knowledge! Share your passions and surround your life with people                             having a high curiosity and thirst of knowledge. 

● Financial resources can be supplied by investors.   B) New Meanings and Knowledge The innovation process is inseparable from the knowledge production. Indeed, innovation cannot be                         done without a base of knowledge (nothing has been created from the nothingness!), and when an                               innovation is produced, there is systematically new meanings and knowledge produced at the same time.                             Consequently, organizations should consider knowledge as “capital”. This immaterial capital is deeply                       neglected in most organization, due to ignorance its value or due to the pressure of rapid financial return.   Identifying very carefully the knowledge produced during innovation process could have two benefits: 

1. The reinjection of the capital "knowledge" produced during the innovation process to the next                           innovation process is absolutely necessary to ensure the sustainability of future innovations. This                         is what should do the knowledge management. The knowledge management should not just be                           the use of a "software" or a suggestion/idea box! Do you deal with the cash of your company                                   with a box? No of course, therefore respect your knowledge as gold!  

2. If the company makes the effort to share its new base of knowledge with its users/consumers,                               then its invention is much more likely to be accepted, and thus become an innovation. This is                                 what should do the community management. The community manager should not just share fun                           things or news about the company in the Facebook fan page or in the Twitter account. He/she                                 should be a talented teacher* having the mission to educate users, customers. 

  *Companies should hire talented and creative teachers!   Finally, what characterizes the failure of an invention to become an innovation is to assume that the                                 company has failed to share its knowledge base and to educate its audience (specially early­adopters                             and lead­users). Therefore, (Invention + Entrepreneurship) cannot be equal to Innovation, but rather to New                         meanings/New Knowledge that the entrepreneur share with his community.   

Ari MASSOUDI / http://www.strategy­of­innovation.com/  / http://www.linkedin.com/in/arimassoudi  

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Finally, we have: a) Invention + Entrepreneurship = New­knowledge + b) New­knowledge + Community = Innovation = Invention + Entrepreneurship + New­kowledge + Community = Innovation +New­knowledge   Innovation Formula:   

Invention + Entrepreneurship + Community = Innovation   The term Knowledge is not anymore visible in the final equation due to the arithmetic rules, but it is still                                       present and very important! It is the key of the success of the innovation process. Another important point, the formula indicates that without an existing community, your invention cannot                           become an innovation. Therefore, the CEO of a startup company has to create a community of early                                 users/believers/fans or infiltrate an existing community. CEOs of startups must understand that this is                           fully part of their mission, it's what Guy Kawasaki, former Apple Marketing Guru, calls Evangelism.   Community, believers, evangelism, evangelist, guru ... these terms come from the vocabulary of religions                           and cults ... because innovation is exactly the same process than creating a new religion or cult ! 

 In conclusion, yes I lied in the title of this article: "The Magic Mathematic Formula of Innovation" !                                   There is no magic and no mathematic formula, but rather a cooking recipe and a sort of road map! And                                     what makes the success of a cooking recipe is the dosage and quality of ingredients, sharing passion and                                   of course the experience of the chef! So, try and don't fear about failure!  

Ari MASSOUDI / http://www.strategy­of­innovation.com/  / http://www.linkedin.com/in/arimassoudi