15 Entrepreneurs Define Innovation And Disruption

What comes to your mind when you think of being innovative or being a disruptor?

Some define it as coming up with a new product or way of doing things.

Here’s how entrepreneurs and business owners define innovation and disruption;

#1- Terms that shift the way an industry operates

Disruption and innovation are two terms that profoundly shift the way an industry operates. Disruption typically starts with a single company or small group of companies creating a new way to operate within the industry. This original disruption forces other companies to adopt the new practices or risk the negative impact of failing to innovate their business.

Thanks to Eric Holguin, Herrman and Herrman PLLC!

#2- The expansion of a field

To me, innovation is the expansion of a field from what is already there. This is learning from ideas and practices that are already done now. This is different from disruption which throws a wrench into the current system and presents a newfound way to innovate a field. If an industry is disrupted then there will be massive change far more quickly than if there was just normal innovation.

Thanks to Steve O’Dell, Tenzo!

#3- Bringing solutions to problems clients didn't know existed

When we want to bring changes in sustainability and designs that excite shoppers, it's about being disruptors and innovators. We need to bring clients ideas, technologies, and designs that are exciting and happen before the trends. It's about bringing solutions to clients before they even realize that there's an issue. Do this with constant market research, conversations with educational institutions, supporting and investing in new technologies, and believing that it can be done!

Thanks to Dora Lau, Dora L. International!

#4- Depends on the one behind the innovations

In my opinion, disruptive innovations tend to be produced by outsiders and entrepreneurs in startups, rather than existing market-leading companies. Disruption is primarily driven by customers. They are the ones behind the decisions to adopt or reject new technologies or new products. When start-ups decide to focus on changing customer needs and wants, they end up responding more effectively to digital disruption than large companies. In our case, it was easy to disrupt real estate in New York as buyers were unhappy. In an increasingly transparent market, there is less value in what traditional brokers offer. The market has never been so transparent, all the information is available online, two clicks are all it takes to know what your neighbor paid for his apartment or whether he took a mortgage. The role of realtors needs to evolve and adapt.

Thanks to Georges Benoliel, NestApple.com!

#6- A disruption is an innovation, not the other way around

People tend to confuse innovation with an invention. An innovation without commercialization is unlikely to disrupt anything. On the contrary, disruptive innovation creates a whole new addressable market with its own distribution model and/or its innovative go-to-market strategy. As a result, it will disrupt existing markets and its incumbents. Those last centuries we understood that disruption can emerge with the arrival of new communication technology like the Internet, new source of energy and new transportation modes. A notable example would be how coal brought us the first steam engine and the locomotive.

Thanks to Mehdi BEDADI, Digital Laoban!

#7- Two definitions

I define disruption as the event of introducing new technologies, products, and services that will affect the market of the existing brands in that specific field. This is something negative that business owners should know because if they didn’t do anything to keep up with these new brands, they will be completely taken over by them. On the other hand, innovation is the event of producing something more advanced based on something that is already existing. Its main objective is to improve the existing performance and to deliver more to society.

Thanks to Chris Muktar, WikiJob.co.uk!

#8- Transformation and welcoming new ideas

For me, disruption is welcoming a non-conventional idea into the business landscape, arming it with innovation in order to accomplish the same task/process but in a more efficient manner — a manner so efficient it threatens the existing players in the market. Now, to define innovation, this is the process by which newer technology is used to transform ordinary things. Without innovation, a disruption wouldn’t be possible. However, as much as these two terms are associated with each other, they are two very different things.

Thanks to Tehsin Bhayani, AirMason!

#9- Viewing business through an evolving lens

When you innovate, you develop new processes or systems for how to do something that has been traditionally done one way. You implement a new method that can quickly solve problems and meet the needs of customers. Innovators are rarely satisfied to settle for where they're at in the moment. They identify their strengths and focus on them. They understand the importance of continually working and evolving their offerings, to deliver the best possible customer experience. This allows their business to be the best at what it does and within its industry which may also be used as your selling point to customers.

Thanks to Deborah Sweeney, MyCorporation.com!

#10- Disruption is the quick innovation of an industry

Disruption is the quick innovation of an industry that creates rapid change. Innovation occurs non-stop. Everything is being innovated and every field is progressing everyday, but there are only a handful of industries that get disrupted as time goes on. If done successfully, these fields see massive change and production that makes new technologies possible. There is a far higher risk associated with disrupting a field, but if you want to make an impact in an industry, that risk needs to be taken.

Thanks to Andrew Pires, Maskie!

#11- Where technology considerably impacts how things function

Every individual in business, and the world, is faced with disruption and innovation. Something is disruptive and innovative if its technology considerably impacts how markets and/or industries function. It allows for increased levels of creativity, communication, and cognizance. For conservation, digital disruption and innovation have made it easy to connect with and build communities. iDiveblue has been able to use virtual platforms and communications to engage with and organize beach clean-ups.

Thanks to Ashleigh Saunders, iDiveblue!

#12- Changing things in an industry

Innovation is more about tweaking and changing pieces of an industry to better meet your goals and visions. It is creating new ways of doing things. Disruption on the other hand, is completely changing an industry; flipping it over on its head. Disruption is seeing something not working and not only making a tweak to a current system, but actually creating an entirely new and never-before-seen system.

Thanks to Andrew Winters, Cohen & Winters!

#13- Breaking apart and introducing a better solution

Disruption is breaking apart (to some extent) precarious trains of thought surrounding vest practices, and innovation is the introduction of your better-solution that fills the gap left by your disruption. Uber disrupted the yellow cab industry and the old-school process of calling to schedule a cab or stepping out into a busy metropolitan area to flag down a taxi. They innovated a new solution by giving individuals a way to use their mobile devices to order a ride at-will through a few taps on the screen and giving the customer a real-time view of their driver's location. Netflix did the same with entertainment by disrupting the movie rental business model and building an ecosystem that essentially eliminated the scarcity of product and/or availability limitations. First, by leveraging direct mail and, later, the streaming service we all use today. To disrupt a given order in business or otherwise is to challenge an established flow, and the innovation and growth are dependent on providing a better replacement to satisfy the need created by your industry disruption.

Thanks to Bernard May, National Positions!

#14- Disruptive technologies can be innovative, and vice versa

Disruptive technologies challenge existing systems, changing how things are done , but not necessarily what is accomplished. An Uber or Lyft changes how to find a ride, but the drive and destination remain the same. Innovation, however, changes the what and why we do things. Innovative technologies don’t just replace existing ones but create new paradigms. Cancer therapies, for example, that work through building the immune system rather than destroying tumor cells, are a prime example of innovation. Changing how we think of a problem therefore changes how we solve it. Disruptive technologies can be innovative, and vice versa, however, the success of any new idea depends upon adaptive adoption, where the end-user ultimately drives the innovation until it is no longer disruptive.

Thanks to Paula Muto, UBERDOC!

#15- Two different things

You know you are disrupting a space when the people who said you were crazy start to copy you. You can get to this point by innovating. Innovation looks like a lot of small improvements but it feels like a better experience that makes your customers more money. By consistently innovating making and making others more money, you will start to make more yourself and disrupt the space.

Thanks to Brandon Spears, Double X Digital!

 How would you define disruption and innovation? Tell us in the comments below. Don’t forget to join our #IamCEO Community.