Radical Innovation
Breakthrough innovations that fundamentally change markets, industries, or behaviors.
Also known as: Breakthrough innovation, Revolutionary innovation, Paradigm-shifting innovation
Category: Concepts
Tags: innovations, transformation, breakthroughs, technologies, changes
Explanation
Radical innovation involves breakthroughs that fundamentally transform industries, create new markets, or significantly change how people work and live. Unlike incremental innovation (small improvements), radical innovation represents paradigm shifts - the automobile replacing horses, smartphones transforming communication, or artificial intelligence changing work. Characteristics include: high uncertainty, long development times, potential for huge impact, and often originating outside industry incumbents. Radical innovation is rare because: it's risky, difficult to predict, and often resisted by existing stakeholders. It typically requires: different resources than incremental innovation, tolerance for failure, and patience for long payoff periods. Organizations often separate radical innovation efforts (labs, skunkworks) from core operations. For knowledge workers, understanding radical innovation helps: recognize transformative opportunities, appreciate why most innovation is incremental, and know when paradigm shifts require fundamental rethinking rather than optimization.
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