Slow Moving Innovation

The word innovation conjures images of speed and revolution, of new, futuristic, life-changing concepts. But the reality is that although new ideas can initially jump out of the ether as a creative spark of epiphany, the adaptation and evolution of the idea into reality often takes a lot longer. Think 30 to 40 years longer.

An interesting article in the latest Design Mind explains why innovation can be a slow process:

Certainly, time scales are different for different industries, and there may be evidence of innovation happening in faster time cycles because of rapidly improved technologies. But innovation isn’t only about new technology. In fact, it’s mainly about culture. Humans are by nature habitual animals, and it takes a lot to move us off of our habits. Technology may be advancing quickly, but that doesn’t mean humans have the interest or the aptitude to adopt it right away.

For example, Swiss inventor George de Mestral invented Velcro in 1941 after noticing the burrs of a burdock had small hooks that caught on his clothing during a hike. Yet it took him nearly 10 years to develop the invention, several more to get the patent (1955), and even longer to sell the product to some pioneering early adopters, including NASA and one or two sporting-equipment companies. So while Velcro was a brief moment of invention, the process of establishing it as part of the culture took much longer.

Design Mind: “Slow Innovation: Good Ideas Take a Long Time to Perfect”