How to find opportunities to innovate?

In Intelectium We have started a series of tips for entrepreneurs in the form of audiovisual pills. After the first delivery (What to do to undertake?), dedicated to knowing in which sector we should create our new company, we have published a second chapter, in this case focusing on ways in which a startup can innovate taking advantage of different circumstances.Innovation is the specific function of entrepreneurship, said Peter Drucker. Indeed, entrepreneurship is, above all, innovation. But how and when to do it? What indicators can guide us? In companies and/or sectors, there are four sources of opportunity to innovate: unexpected events, inconsistencies, process needs and changes in the industry or in the market. In addition, there are three other sources in the social and intellectual environment that could inspire the entrepreneur: demographic changes, changes in perception And the creation of new knowledge.Indeed, entrepreneurs must be very attentive to what is happening around them, because Any unexpected outcome can lead to an opportunity to innovate. We can mention the case of the company 3M, in which Spence Silver was trying to improve acrylate adhesives, his company's main product. One of the attendees at one of his seminars, a certain Art Fry, went to church frequently and had the problem that he always fell off the dividers he used in his hymn book. When he saw that the acrylate adhesive did not stick strongly and also did not leave a residue, he came up with the idea of putting it on the edge of a paper. Its dividers, then, would not fall and you could also change them to another place. This is how the post-it came about. Another source of innovation is incongruity and discontinuity. Las inconsistencies are easy to identify. The most typical occurs when an industry grows and its profit margins fall. Las discontinuities are more complex to recognize, since these are trend patterns that emerge from the convergence of certain trends that can be identified in the economy, consumption, society, family, technology and politics, and that can radically change the rules of the game of a sector. Identifying these types of discontinuities requires setting up very specific workshops. In Intelectium we have done them with several clients. These are very effective processes, since they allow us to stop for a moment and simulate the future in a very scientific way. process needs they also tend to generate important innovations. For example, the new iMac posed a challenge for Apple engineers. To be able to join the front and the back, they had to search for and adapt manufacturing processes that are used in the aviation industry or the manufacture of space rockets. changes in industries or markets they create exceptional opportunities. That is the case of the music industry. The Internet has given rise to new ways of doing business and to new companies: iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, etc. The same is happening with movies, with players such as Netflix, Hulu, etc., or in the publishing sector, with Amazon Kindle and more companies. As for the opportunities that arise outside companies and industries, those that refer to demographic changes are the ones with the most potential and also the most reliable. These changes have a double value: they occur slowly and are therefore predictable. There are currently several socio-demographic trends that are generating interesting changes in consumer behavior: there are more people living alone, we have a longer life expectancy, etc. changes in perception are related to socio-demographic trends. One of the most powerful changes of this type that is taking place is the perception that it is important to lead a healthy life, which is giving rise to the emergence of new businesses related to the cultivation, production and sale of organic products, or the need to take care of the environment, which is influencing the way in which we produce energy, manufacture appliances or build houses. Innovations based on creation of new knowledge receive a lot of attention, but they require a lot of time to find application, spread and adopt. For them to develop, many disciplines have to converge. In addition, they are not predictable and generate a high rate of failure (failed companies). In short, and even if the sources of innovation are clear, innovation requires, above all, systematic, well-structured, intense work aimed at a specific and clear objective. But the most important thing is innovate in something that people are already doing or trying to do.