The sides of Innovate or Die

Have you ever heard of the phrase "Innovate or Die?"

It would be more surprising to me if you have not heard the phrase.

Innovate or Die...
The phrase that is defining a generation of young business professionals.

If you think about it, the concept of this phrase is not a bad concept. It is encouraging constant change and innovation. Only the companies or products that are willing to change and improve will be the ones that will survive.

This phrase is good to keep in mind, but should it be constantly on your mind? Should this be the driving force?

Having the "Innovate or Die" mentality can lead to positive change, but it can also be deadly to have as your driving force. There is always a good and bad to any idea or phrase, including "innovate or die"

The Good

It leads to constant change

•  If people did not believe in this phrase, then we would not be using half the technology we are using. Computers that once took up an entire room is now in the palm of my hands on my phone. Or when Henry Ford created the automobile to be able to increase travel. Without these constant changes, we would not be living the way that we are are accustomed to nor be able to do business in the same way.

Is the reason for for great ideas

• Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and many many more who have had these great ideas that lead to great change in the world of business and technology. Take for example Microsoft. No one thought they could be able to compete with IBM and they did. These small companies that no one thought could advance are now the leaders. This is especially true today with new technology and different social media sites. Some of these companies pop up over night and a few months later have this great following.

Encourages Creativity

• To be able to innovate, you must be able to be creative. Now creativity does not mean artistic, but thinking in a unique way. There are many people who are creative with their strategic plans. A perfect example of this is how Steve Jobs used his 1984 advertisement (has to be one of my favorite ads). He knew his product was going to change the world and decided to take a creative approach with his advertising.

The Bad

Can lead to constant Fear

•  Having the need to be original and create good ideas all the time is a good motivating factor. It is the second part that can be a little daunting. If a person is just focusing  on the fear of losing their company, then I can guarantee that they are not going to be thinking rationally.

Can lead to poor ideas

• When you feel like you have to innovate and have something new every year, it may not be the best creation. Sometimes it is good to take your time (not forever, but a reasonable amount of time) or take a year before you release something new. If you release too many bad "innovations" to your product, then people will start to ignore the buzz you are trying to create and this will hurt you when you actually have that great changing innovation.

Innovate or Die.

Good words to live by, but should not be your strategy. It is something good to keep in mind to make sure you are not staying in the status qoe. But having this purely as your strategy can lead you to making foolish decisions based out of fear or poor decisions.