Three types of innovation: informative, transformative, and formative.

· Bits and Bobs 5/12/25
  • Three types of innovation: informative, transformative, and formative.
    • This frame comes from The Heart of Innovation.
    • Informative: incrementally extend what's already there.
    • Transformative: change the game of what's already there.
    • Formative: create something new.[nc]
    • Informative innovation assumes the structure is roughly correct and it just needs to be optimized or tightened.
    • Transformative innovation assumes the structure must be changed.
      • To do transformative innovation you must have leverage over the system (for example, it must be a system you own)
    • If you want to change the world but do not have leverage over a system, you must do formative innovation.
    • Formative innovation must start small, as a little demon seed.
      • A schelling point of a tiny viable thing that can grow at a compounding rate.
      • If it has to be large to be viable, then it will diffuse or die before it ever becomes alive.

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