How can incremental innovation improve your competitive advantage?

At think we refer to incremental innovation as organic innovation - where things continually improve, because everyone is deliberate in working in ways that matter not just following the status quo.

Incremental innovation is a strategic approach involving gradual improvements to existing products, services, or processes, driven by customer feedback, aiming to enhance functionality, efficiency, and quality.

It helps the organizations stay relevant and adaptive to the needs of its customers, staff and shareholders. It is a great way for Organisations who are not yet ready to invest in disruptive innovation to start focusing on this instead - which if enabled properly, will lay the foundation for building your innovation strategy in other areas.

Incremental innovation is crucial for staying competitive, meeting customer needs, and fostering continuous improvement. It reduces risks and costs associated with radical or disruptive innovation and complements it by extending value propositions.

A creativity and innovation culture building program lays the foundation for cross Organizational incremental innovation. It requires: Creative thinking and innovation skills and competence development Leadership Innovation capability building Champions to ignite, support and maintain the momentum for larger organisations.

Implementing incremental innovation requires constant learning, testing, and feedback. Prioritize problems and opportunities through small changes, involve customers, employees, and partners, use data to measure impact, refine solutions, and celebrate successes. Reward and recognize those who contribute to these innovations.

Incremental innovation can be found in almost every industry and sector, bringing benefits to both innovators and customers. Real time examples are: Smart Phones: The evolution of smartphones is a prime example of incremental innovation, with various companies contributing to continuous improvements in design, functionality, and user experience. eg Apple (iPhone series), Samsung (Galaxy series), Google (Pixel series) etc.

Incremental innovation is powerful in unlocking a continuous improvement mindset across the Organization, to support this the organization must be deliberate in how they enable and support incremental culture building.