The New Secret Inside of Innovation

As an innovation focused professional, could you have missed the new factor that is creating big wins for start-ups, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, investors and the forward leaning companies?  It starts with M. and it is inside of the word Innovation and only surfaced in a big way when Steve Jobs took the stage to introduce the iPhone in June of 2007.

What I am talking about is Mobile! Yes, there is now an M (for mobile) inside of a major portion of innovation coming out now. Just go to go to the annual Techcrunch Disrupt event, review the portfolio of global venture capital leader Sequoia, or look inside the turnaround strategies for Zuckerberg at Apple or Marissa Meyer at Yahoo…mobile is driving it all.  (and think of how many people think of  mobile as smartphones or a media channel).

I am talking about putting Mobile+ upfront in your innovation efforts, your objectives/strategies and process. First, Mobile PLUS is the whole interrelated dynamics of:  emerging smart devices and wearable technologies, the fusion of it with social, the rapidly scalable and efficient cloud, the new “engagement and activation technology” (iBeacons, NFC, sensors, e-payments, etc.), mobile commerce, the app world and the exploding array of enterprise platforms.

At a recent TEDx event, I shared with the Villanova University audience and its attending I.C.E. members (Villanova’s Innovation, Creativity & Entrepreneurship Center) one singular thought (& a series of related drivers): “put Mobile+ front and center in your innovation and idea building efforts”. The reason: your success rate, your return of investment and effort, even your future funding and eventual market place delivery moves to a different level when you strap the mobile+ rocket to it!

There were 5 simple drivers for the TEDx talk:

(1) WOW Mobile UX (User Xperience): It is all about simple, intuitive, delicious, Steve Jobs inspired UX meets killer function.  An innovation delivered in your hand, in the occasion and you create empowered lifestyles or  work styles for users.  But think wow UX beyond software, think apps and platforms, Google Glass or wearable devices, chips and sensors in shoes, garments and everything physical in our world.

(2)  Re-invented Business Models: The biggest concern in the recent global PWC CEO survey (Jan. 2014) was “disruptive technology” and “new entrants” (coming with disruptive tech & business models).  Just think UBER and the ability of a few millennials with a better way to get a taxi or eco-friendly car  and driver.  They created a mobile platform and then drove it with social tactics and bam! It has spread across the USA and worldwide with a new business model.

(3)  Mobile Multiplier Advantage: Twenty years ago, when the 2.0 internet world was breaking,  it was about one-to-one browser to website and back interaction. It was linear and a challenge for the start-up or entrepreneur versus the big players. With Mobile+, the playing field is leveled. There are liberating little software tools/connections called API’s (Application Programming Interface per Wikipedia) that give open access (free) to information, content, images, functions, etc. that can enhance your innovation a hundred fold. There are thousands: Foursquare gives you location based data, Google gives an 100+ array, plus Yahoo, Twitter, Facebook and so many obscure and vertically focused ones. They are all yours to enhance and drive your idea or solution.

(4)  Engagement & Activation Technology (E.A.T.):  Now breaking open is technology that helps you, as a consumer or someone in the private or public sector, to engage deeper with the world around you. Walk down the street, see a bus shelter for Starbucks, and it engages you with a new technology (i.e. Thinaire’s beacon or NFC solution platform)

Giving you  a “Buy One, Get One Free” offer on your smartphone. You walk 100 yards and into the Starbucks and your Skinny Latte is sitting there ready and paid for. A wide array of engagement options are now possible across retail, e-commerce, media, stadiums, etc. One other area is about chips and sensors bringing homes, machines, and the workplace objects to life (known as “The Internet of Things”) with your smart device.

(5) Mobile Monetization: Your innovation needs to be complete with a viable business model and the mobile+ world helps here, as well, with new ways to monetize your idea: from mobile app to advertising/gaming models, from in-store stimulated sales and e-payments to exploding e-commerce/mobile commerce. Smart devices can turn media, stadium seats, a movie poster or your favorite jersey into a “pop-up store in your hand.”

The aspiring innovators and entrepreneurs in the audience were so captivated and energized by the possibilities of the new M+ inside of innovation. How about you, do you see the M, as in Mobile+, in your idea building future?

See more on The Secret (mobile) Inside of Innovation and its Five Drivers brought to life at the recent TEDx Villanova:

image credit: apieceoftheaction.net

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Patrick Meyer is the Global Correspondent for Innovation Excellence, and an Innovation and Business 3.0 Expert, Author and Keynote Speaker. He is the founder of PatrickTV and The CEO Futurist – Delivering The Future Now.