This was expressed by Arthur C. Clarke, a renowned science fiction writer, in his book “Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry into the Limits of the Possible,” where he formulated his famous 3 laws, this was the third.

Now, it is important to consider that this was in the year 1962.

 

Today, almost 60 years later, we find ourselves living in a world saturated with new technologies, appearing at a frenetic pace in a race of large and small companies around the world, all striving to captivate our attention and position themselves as the new disruptors in some segment, and thus, unwittingly become part of our daily life.

 

In this digital world of unlimited communications and interactions, it leads me to consider that “magic” can now be created or experienced by offering extreme convenience through state-of-the-art business models and technologies.

 

 

• Invisible, rerefers to the complexity of everything that actually happens in the background, without friction or complications, but something or someone undoubtedly takes care of it. Nothing happens just because.

 

• Involuntary impulse is something that is executed without thinking. With a small action, only one or a few steps deliver the experience we are looking for.

 

• Speed is because nowadays there is no time to waste. We have become accustomed, more and more, to wanting and needing things now, and the result generates instant satisfaction.

 

 

• How can we then generate and deliver convenience?

Make it easy for the user, or let something or someone else do it for them.

 

• How can we then generate and deliver extreme convenience?

Make it easy for the user to have something or someone else do it for them.

 

For example, having someone or something take care of executing the payment/debit/charge of our service every month, without us realizing when or for how much sometimes, or recommending based on what we consume what is the next thing we should consume because it is similar or compatible with what we have already done before.

 

Yes, that is convenience, everyone demands convenience, from the youngest and regardless of age or any other aspect, based on their circumstances, culture, location, maturity, and access to technology. It is a universal concept and year after year we seek or encounter more conveniences.

 

So, I start to think, from my position,

How do I generate or increase convenience in my ecosystem and areas of action?

 

And I invite you to do the same from your position.

 

Technology, another of the important words in Clarke’s law, has been nothing more than a facilitator and accelerator, to be able to interact and is the enabled medium or channel to surprise and “magically” generate and develop conveniences. We expect a lot, or anything, from technology these days.

 

Magic, Convenience, Technology, the mix of these 3 words in the end, we could say that what has brought us and faced is what could be called Innovation.

 

Better said, to put it in simple words, I like to say that innovation is simply a different way of doing things, that simple, or that complex.

 

Take a close look at what is achieved, for example, with:

 

• Netflix/Youtube,a different way of consuming audiovisual content
• Spotify/Apple Music, a different way of consuming audio/music content
• Uber/Lyft, a different way of transporting and mobilizing
• AirBnB/Booking, a different way of traveling, finding accommodation, or sightseeing
• Waze, is a different way of interpreting and following directions or maps
• Amazon, is a different way of many things, but of buying anything
• Rappi, is a different way of asking for something to be delivered to your home
• Whatsapp, is a way to communicate with people
• Instagram, is a different way of seeing and sharing, reliving, and immortalizing moments and memories
• Audible, uis a different way of consuming content, of reading
• Google calendar, is a different way to keep your schedule
• Zoom, is a different way to interact with your work colleagues or loved ones
• And even Memes, a different form of entertainment

 

In the previous list, we found great initiatives, of course, that we have long called innovative. However, notice that there is nothing that hasn’t been done before. We did all of that, but we did it differently than we can do it now.

 

Therefore, we can comfortably say that thanks to the global situation we are facing today and the events of recent months, we are all innovators. We are all doing many things differently than we did before. Thanks to these events, we have had to take risks and assume them.

 

Innovation is not something that belongs to someone, a group of people who studied a certain field, a department of any company, or the people we call creative, strategic, or technological. Innovation can arise and awaken at any moment and by anyone.

 

Often in companies, there is a demand and a search for innovation from all points of view. Being the most innovative, standing out against the competition is a constant challenge.

 

If there is something you want to improve, something you have wanted to innovate, as a new year begins, look for ways to do it differently, with or without technology. Find out if there is a better way to do it, if someone else has done it, if there are best practices, and regardless of whether it is distant from your environment, if there is anything you can contribute to achieving it.

 

Ask yourself, how can I adopt and implement good innovation practices that already exist in other contexts in my action environment?