Innovation is an idea that blooms and fades so quickly; the success of an innovation heavily relies on accurate assessment. The question is, how can we determine if our ideas and concepts are acceptable? And can the ideas or concepts we offer thrive in today’s highly dynamic market?
This is where the wisdom of innovators becomes crucial. Both experienced and novice innovators must be able to assess the value of an idea by seeking opinions from fellow innovators and customers. Imagine an inspired designer crafting hardware. Instead of relying solely on their own vision, it would be much better to have feedback from fellow designers and the target audience. This can provide suggestions and insights for improvement. When we share thoughts with fellow designers, they can offer critiques, technical advice, and other aspects such as aesthetics that may not have been considered by us as designers. Potential shortcomings or overlooked elements in the design can be identified earlier.
Moreover, when communicating with the target audience, who serves as the main jury for the created design, they will provide a general assessment of the design. The audience can also express their needs, and this feedback helps refine the design to truly resonate with their requirements.
However, exchanging opinions with designers or the target audience is not just about validation; it is a collaboration. By combining diverse perspectives, designers can refine their initial concepts, make them more effective, and ultimately increase the probability of success. The collaborative approach helps innovators enhance the likelihood of achieving goals and improve the quality of the design.
Apart from collaboration, what about the quality of an idea or design? Is quality the main factor? The answer is not always. Although quality is certainly desired, in reality, quantity produces quality. Without quantity, ideas and designs of high quality are never attained. For example, world-renowned maestros like Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach pursued both quality and quantity. Mozart composed 600 works, Beethoven 650, and Bach more than 1,000. However, among the 50 best classical music pieces selected by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, only six were composed by Mozart, five by Beethoven, and three by Bach.
From this, it can be seen that the quantity of an idea opens doors to unexpected paths, hidden connections, and unforeseen discoveries to achieve quality. The failure of an idea is not the end but rather a process of our original idea continuously flowing to generate new combinations and increase the chances of finding that gem.