The 1968 Olympic Gold winner in the high jump – Dick Fosbury
The 1968 Olympic high jump innovation of Dick Fosbury revolutionized this particular event.
It may be a relatively minor example but, nevertheless, it demonstrated a totally unique development that led the competing world athletes to 100% adoption of a technique; it rendered the previous “Western roll” approach obsolete; it raised the standard of performance via world records. It was, indeed, a creation that can be used as a pivotal example of what innovation truly is.
It served as a clear indication that innovative thinking cannot be “pre-set” by preconditional expectations.
Many innovators may utilize a spectrum that ranges from “development” to “revolution”.
Most of your examples reflect technology developments rather than true innovation, especially the later examples.
Truly innovative thinkers utilize lateral approaches that can be as unpredictable yet as impactful as the wind.
The success of an innovation tends to run parallel with its “element of newness and surprise”; it is future-facing and has the much-needed quality of longevity.
It is a birth process that defies immediate logic, convention, and, of course, opposition. However, it may include invention and single-mindedness.
The “development” mindset tends to restrict the scope of innovation as a concept. Take art as an example, where creativity abounds through minds and hearts that are free of such restrictions.
Surrealism, philosophy, poetry, music – all of these serve to capture something that is, ultimately, unattainable but indicates a higher form of creativity and something to strive for.
Linear, mechanistic thinking is the enemy of true unfettered innovation. CFOs naturally fear innovation and its implications at some level.
Most innovations will be technologically determined over the coming years, but does the fact that we can utilize voice instruction, or “Kindle” or “The Internet of Everything” serve to confirm the full potential of innovation? Or do they reflect merely expanding industries?
Feeling, reason, intuition, and sensation are the foundations of imagination.
Historically, humankind achieves its dreams – speaking to someone from across the world; landing on the moon; flying, and mass production.
Keep thinking, imagining, conceptualizing, dreaming, and personifying your innovation(s).