Harold Evans provides a lucid distinction between invention and innovation in his book, "They Made America," about the inventors and innovators who shaped this country.
The inventor solves a problem in a unique way, but the vision is most often limited to the immediate problem space.
The innovator (the Jobs-Englebart scenario is the one I most often use as an example) sees immediately the huge potential and acts on this much larger vision, bringing the invention to the world as a useful device or system.
The truly great inventor/innovators see the whole spectrum from the beginning, from concept to product (and revenues). Few can claim this combination. Such people shape the world.
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Invention and Innovation
Harold Evans provides a lucid distinction between invention and innovation in his book, "They Made America," about the inventors and innovators who shaped this country.
The inventor solves a problem in a unique way, but the vision is most often limited to the immediate problem space.
The innovator (the Jobs-Englebart scenario is the one I most often use as an example) sees immediately the huge potential and acts on this much larger vision, bringing the invention to the world as a useful device or system.
The truly great inventor/innovators see the whole spectrum from the beginning, from concept to product (and revenues). Few can claim this combination. Such people shape the world.