The Social Impact of Innovation

 Recently, I have been engaged in the process of writing two chapters for the forthcoming book, Advances in the Study of Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Economic Growth -- the first of which is set to open the volume and discusses 'The Social Impact of Innovation' (quite the narrow subject, of course). Revisiting a draft of the executive summary yesterday evening, I thought I'd share some early thoughts on the matter here:

The future is predicated not by time, but by innovation. If all things remain as they are, the world would look the same in fifty years as it does today. In this way, innovation transforms society. It pushes the boundaries of what we know and works to shape the world into what it can be. It creates new things -- technologies, processes, organizations, systems, knowledge, and thinking. This process manifests in several ways -- incremental innovation influences situations by a measurable impact, whereas disruptive innovation creates new situations altogether. In either event, innovation moves the world forward. The result is not always positive, however, as innovation can have a dark side no matter how well intentioned. Nevertheless, innovation affords society a means to influence its environment -- providing a sense of control in an otherwise chaotic, ambiguous, and distributed world. As such, innovation is society’s most tangible form of hope. In this chapter, we will work to dissect how innovation builds the future, providing a commentary on how the different levels of society -- social, economic, political -- are impacted by this process.

Content aside, the experience of reflecting upon -- and eventually writing about -- a topic so abstract served as an interesting exercise in divergent-convergent thinking as it prompted me to think big, while still challenging me to remain focused on the core tenets of the narrative. This process -- or approach -- is often characterized as a principle of what has been popularly termed as 'design thinking,' and it provides some interesting insights into venture strategy and development where introducing and considering new perspectives can give way to some of the most impactful breakthroughs that might otherwise remain hidden. However, it is worth noting, any particular idea, insight, or strategy is only as useful -- at least functionally -- as it can be executed upon. To be successful in any pursuit, you ultimately have to be able to deliver on your intent. 

That all said, I look forward to the release of the book in 2016. Until then, I will resort to sharing my thoughts here and elsewhere. Back to work.