When it comes to innovation it’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming it’s only about creating a new technology or something of that nature.  Innovation can come in many forms however, and I’ve written about the importance of process innovation and business model innovation in the last few months.

Doblin Group, the innovation consultancy, outline ten distinct ways you can innovate in their book Ten Types of Innovation.  Check them out below and see if any trigger ideas for application within your own organization.

10 types of innovation

1. Profit innovation, which looks (obviously) at how you earn money.
2. Network innovation, which explores how you connect with partners and form a collaboration network.
3. Structural innovation, and in particular how you organize your business, its assets and the talent both inside and outside it.
4. Process innovation, which we’ve discussed before.
5. Performance innovation, which explores the performance of your products and how they distinguish you from your competitors.
6. System innovation, which looks at how your product or service sits within your portfolio.  Can you compliment it with other products, for instance.
7. Service innovation, which explores the way you support your product in the marketplace.
8. Channel innovation, which explores the way your product is delivered to market.
9. Brand innovation, looks at how your product is represented in the marketplace.
10. Customer innovation, which looks at the various interactions you have with customers.

How many of these are you using in your own innovation efforts?