The Benefits of Innovation

So why innovate at all? This blog post is not meant to be academically sound or thoroughly researched. It's more of a stream of consciousness in which I try to list out as many benefits of being innovative as I can. To provide at least a little structure, I've decided to break out the target of the innovation, i.e. the end-user of the innovation who will directly receive the associated benefits, into three groups: 1) The Business, 2) The Customer, and 3) The Society (aka the country, government or general economy).

The Business

- Remains relevant and competitive
- Identifies new growth opportunities
- Increases profits / revenues
- Reduces costs
- Attracts / Retains talent
- Remains on the cutting-edge

The Customer

- Gets access to new and improved products and services
- Receives products/services faster than before
- May benefit from savings of money and/or time
- Enjoys higher standard of living

The Society

- Progresses economically
- Fosters further innovation, setting in motion a virtuous cycle
- Creates more jobs and opportunities for people
- Works "smarter not harder" leading to productivity gains
- Becomes insulated from exogenous shocks to the system, i.e. it becomes self-reliant

What do you think of the above? Have I played up the benefits of innovation too much? Not enough? Are there any glaring mistakes or omissions?

Please add your comments below!