Innovation and creativity are two popular words that are often used in the business world during any conversation surrounding ideas. This is because when we are in the process of generating new ideas, products or even unique methods to do any work, we rely on creativity and innovation.
The two terms are the basis on which problem-solving, growth and other development activities happen in various sectors across the globe. As a professional, this is a key area of focus for you and a program such as the mastersin innovation and entrepreneurship will help you build relevant skills in this field.
Creativity and innovation are two words that are used interchangeably because they drive progress together and one goes with another. Though despite the similarities, the two are distinct and have different meanings, impacts and outcomes.
What is creativity?     Â
Creativity is one of the most popular terms that is used for a number of things ranging from art to ideas. It is through creativity that something new is brought to life such as an idea, a concept, or a creation like a piece of painting. People use creativity in a number of ways for a variety of things in various stages of life.
For a business or a business professional, creativity is important to generate new ideas, better plans and even sometimes to come up with out-of-the-box solutions. It also helps in the development of new skills or new modes of work. Problem-solving is one aspect of business that relies immensely on creativity which is a nonlinear approach to thinking.
What is innovation?
Innovation is a process that comes very close to creativity in terms of definition but is largely focused on the overall changes or improvements that are made as per new ideas. With the help of innovation, we can make a significant improvement to the existing goods and services which will lead to better productivity and higher output.
While creativity mainly comes from imagination, innovation is more focused on making existing things more productive.
Difference between innovation and creativity?
As mentioned above, creativity and innovation are two very related yet distinct concepts. In the business world, they both are of immense value and are applied for overall progression. Creativity is used to come up with new and original ideas and with innovation, those ideas are turned into something tangible which can be a new product or a new service.
A good example of this is all the digital and technological innovations that are happening. While it takes creativity to come up with ideas but an improvement on a pre-existing model is simply innovation.
Supposedly, a person comes up with a creative new idea for a smartphone that has a foldable screen. The idea is completely original and creative but it is simply an idea. The innovation part here comes when someone will take that idea, be it a team or a person and develops a working prototype with the same idea. They would then launch it in the market after the development, testing and production part is over. This is the main contrasting point between creativity and innovation.
