Running Head: INNOVATIVE TOOLS REPORT 1

Innovative Tools Report

Student’s Name

Institution
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Innovative Tools Report

Innovation, which is derived from a Latin word ‘nova’, is the process of introducing a

new technique or mechanism. Innovative ideas usually come from various sources. There some

which have been developed from an inspiration, while others come by accident. In most cases

however, most of these innovative ideas are developed with an intention of solving a problem, or

achieving customer satisfaction. It is from ideas that innovative knowledge and products are

established. One estimate once showed that for a single successful commercial, it took three

thousand ideas. With this ratio in mind, it is therefore essential for companies to generate more

ideas regularly (Press, H., 2009).

Innovation has four main classifications, which a company can choose to adapt:

I. Incremental

- It seeks to improve something that is already in existence or reconfigures a given

technology to perform some other tasks.

II. Radical

- This type phases out an existing method or knowledge, and gives way to a new one. It is

also known as discontinuous or breakthrough innovation.

III. Sustaining

- This can be either discontinuous or incremental in nature. The common thing however,

for the sustaining innovation is that it seeks to improve on a product that has already been

established.

IV. Disruptive
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-In this type, a different proposition that once existed is introduced to the market. In most

instances, they usually lead to a new market.

Doblin (2009), has presented another model of innovation, which comprises of ten

different types. In the introduction of any new methodology, there exists a system that is simple,

and has a fundamental structure, which dictates what works for the organization, and what

contributes to its failure (Keeley, L., 2013). The ten innovation types in this case, seek to create a

framework that supports the development of innovative ideas. This makes the process of

innovation effective.

The ten innovation types are further classified into three categories:

1. Configuration

i. Profit Model – It handles the aspect of making money.

ii. Network – Facilitates productive connections for value creation.

iii. Structure – It ensures ones talents are aligned with the company’s assets.

iv. Process – They are the procedures used for working.

2. Offering

v. Product Performance - It brings distinction between features and functions.

vi. Product System – These are the complimentary products or services.

3. Experience

vii. Service – This is the support provided for what is being offered by an organization.

viii. Channel – It is the media in which what an organization is offering is being delivered

to their customers.
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ix. Brand – This is how the products or the services offered by a given company are

represented.

x. Customer Engagement – It is the interaction between an organization and their

customers.

For an organization to effectively use the ten innovation types, the following principles are to be

followed:

1. Understanding the ten innovative types- Nearly all the projects can develop simply by

having a deep understanding of the value of each type.

2. Avoiding the emphasis of relying on technology – This is the easiest capability that a

competitor can easily replicate.

3. Think about Types and categories - Always try to develop new methods of configuring

assets, building platforms, and nurturing new experiences.

4. Using the types which matter the most – Carefully diagnose the types which your

organization and those in your industry tend to ignore.

5. Understanding the need of the customers- Research on the users can be used to determine

the products or services that are relevant to the customers. This can help an organization

deliver what is lacking in the market.

6. Making good use of the innovation types – the use of more types, while carefully

integrating makes it easier to reinvent a new category and make a kill in the market.

For improved innovations, executives are required to view the procedure used in the

transformation of ideas into profitable outputs as a unified flow, rather than as value chain for the
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transformation of raw materials into finished products. The value chain comprises of three

phases:

i. Generation of ideas

- All executives know that any innovation begins with the development of good ideas.

Managers usually look for creative minds in their units or departments and bring them

together to have a brainstorming session for brilliant ideas. External partners can also

be included in the brainstorming sessions. The combining of different insights from

different entities in the same organization is the first step towards the development of

a new product or service.

- Idea generation can be obtained from the six sources:

a. New knowledge – They form the basis of the powerful innovations. It is

however characterized by time lags, because it takes time to transform new

knowledge into a profitable business.

b. Lead users – These is another category of people who are very valuable o any

business. They are the people who will modify an off-the-shelf product to suit

their personal needs. They are usually head of what is trending in the market.

Listening to their ideas can give an organization an edge over their

competitors.

c. Customers – They are the best people to give product feedback because they

are the consumers. It is therefore very important to listen to their needs and

complaints.

d. Invention factories – This mainly used by the large organizations which carry

out research in a formal manner in an innovation factory.

e. Empathetic design – It is a technique that allows innovators to observe the use

of the existing products or services in their surrounding by the customers.

f. Open market – This involves developing of new products or services and

testing them out in the market to see how they will perform. In some cases, it

might work out perfectly.

ii. Conversion of ideas

- This is the phase where all the ideas that were generated during the idea generation

are carefully screened to choose the most effective ones. At this point, the cost of

funding the ideas are also carefully assessed.

iii. Diffusion of ideas

- This is the phase whereby the vetted, financed and developed concepts are

implemented and integrated into the system for the adoption of the employees as well

as the customers of the organization.

Tesla is one of the many organizations that has adopted the use of innovative ideas to

create an edge against its competitors. In the past before the inception of Tesla, the idea of

having electric cars was not envisioned by many. Tesla has inspired consumers with the massive

shift in the automotive industry (Sulumov, I. O., 2019). Apart from developing electric cars that

have high performance, they are strong advocates of going green. Tesla chose to employ radical

innovation in the automotive industry.

Currently, Tesla can be compared to “Apple”, because they were the pioneer in the

manufacture of the first electric car that made a breakthrough in the automotive industry. There
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has been some electric vehicles that were manufactured for a while, but Tesla went an extra mile

of taking it into the mainstream. They are active in creating a market for the vehicles.

Tesla has an advantage over its competitors mainly because they are selling to the

people’s dreams. Apart from the fact that the vehicles operate on a lesser cost and that

they have lesser breakable parts, their speed attracted more people than before. It is

slowly shifting from a need to a want.

The biggest innovation by Tesla is the ability to manufacture electric vehicles that are

appealing to the consumers (MCKENZIE, H. A. M. I. S. H. , 2019) . Apart from promoting a

clean environment by going green, they vehicles are stylish and have the ability to beat a Formula

1 car, as well as drive themselves. That is the reason why Tesla is on the forefront as being the

first electric vehicle company to compete with the mainstream vehicles in the market and win.

For Tesla, the idea generation techniques that have been used are the;

New knowledge – Electric cars is an idea that was not visualized by many, and those who did

didn’t take it to the mainstream level. Elon Musk thought of the idea and begun working on it. It

was a new technology in the automobile industry and many people are buying into the idea. Elon

also knew that by going green during the manufacturing of the vehicles, his company stood a

chance of having an edge in the automobile industry.

Invention factories- The brilliant idea of manufacturing electric cars was generated tested and

implemented in the Tesla Company before the assembly begun. It took years of testing the

different technologies before finally coming up with a working model.

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