INNOVATION AND INVENTION

Often misinterpreted innovation has come to be thought of as being something new that never existed before when actually it can involve both invention (something new), or an improvement to something that already exists. People that invent new products, processes, or ideas are inventors.  An innovator is a broader term that includes both inventors and those that make improvements to existing things.

To better understand this subtle but important difference please consider the following:

Here are a few examples of inventors and their invention:

• Alexander Graham Bell – the telephone
• Thomas Edison – the light bulb
• Samuel Morse – the telegraph

Here is a list of innovators and their improvements

• IBM – took the telephone and made it mobile
• Nick Holonyak Jr. (GE engineer) – took the light bulb and came up with LED lights
• Guglielmo Marconi – took the telegraph and made it wireless