Characteristics of an Innovator
An invention is useful only to the inventor unless it is made useful to the public. You can also say that if an invention improves a product, process, or service for the public, then that invention transforms into an innovation. Every business owner should also be an innovator because your business offers something that's useful to the public.
To be an innovator, you need to have the following characteristics:
1. The ability to recognize a need.
What do you do when you encounter a problem? An innovator does not walk away from a problem. In fact, an innovator sees the problem as a need and tries to find a solution for it. If you are developing your business idea or business plan, you need to be clear on the need of the product or service that you'll be providing to the public.
2. The ability to develop and refine a solution.
An innovator, most of the time, does not succeed on the first attempt of developing a solution for a need. Now that you have recognized a need, you need to try again and again to refine the final solution that works the best to resolve the problem. From a business owner's perspective, your product or service has to be continuously updated to adapt to the rapid changing world, so that your product or service will fit the need the best among your competition.
3. The ability to be patient and dedicated.
Not being patient is often the downfall of an innovator. Rushing never helps! A classic example would be if you rush when developing a software, you will probably end up receiving numerous amount of bug and error reports from users later on. A smart innovator would dedicate time to run various tests before product launch.
A true story...
A New Zealand inventor, Glenn Martin, has spent most of his life (27 years) on the ultimate garage project: a jetless jetpack that will carry him hundreds of feet in the air. The jetpack runs on gasoline and it's flying time is only limited by the amount of gasoline loaded. All the jetpacks before this one could not last for more than 33 seconds in the air, the Martin Jetpack lasts for 30 minutes with 5 gallons of gasoline. He is a successful innovator.
To be an innovator, you need to have the following characteristics:
1. The ability to recognize a need.
What do you do when you encounter a problem? An innovator does not walk away from a problem. In fact, an innovator sees the problem as a need and tries to find a solution for it. If you are developing your business idea or business plan, you need to be clear on the need of the product or service that you'll be providing to the public.
2. The ability to develop and refine a solution.
An innovator, most of the time, does not succeed on the first attempt of developing a solution for a need. Now that you have recognized a need, you need to try again and again to refine the final solution that works the best to resolve the problem. From a business owner's perspective, your product or service has to be continuously updated to adapt to the rapid changing world, so that your product or service will fit the need the best among your competition.
3. The ability to be patient and dedicated.
Not being patient is often the downfall of an innovator. Rushing never helps! A classic example would be if you rush when developing a software, you will probably end up receiving numerous amount of bug and error reports from users later on. A smart innovator would dedicate time to run various tests before product launch.
A true story...
A New Zealand inventor, Glenn Martin, has spent most of his life (27 years) on the ultimate garage project: a jetless jetpack that will carry him hundreds of feet in the air. The jetpack runs on gasoline and it's flying time is only limited by the amount of gasoline loaded. All the jetpacks before this one could not last for more than 33 seconds in the air, the Martin Jetpack lasts for 30 minutes with 5 gallons of gasoline. He is a successful innovator.
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