An excerpt from
Aji Notes, Volume 3, written by Toby Hecht.
Aji Notes, Volume 3
(pages 70-74)
What Is An Innovation?
An “innovation” is something practical and never seen before.
Even though producing innovations requires creativity, they are not art.
Their focus is practical utility, rather than displaying human virtues.
New offers, practices, narratives and strategies (OPNS) are, by definition, innovations.
The existence of computers and the internet makes designing new OPNS easy, enjoyable and definitive when businesspeople use Aji.
Businesspeople who design new OPNS for their careers and businesses are innovators.
Whenever businesspeople use Aji to design a new OPNS, or a new good or service, they are being innovative. They are innovating.
The value of businesspeople’s innovations differs and drives different behaviors with competitors and Buyers, i.e. customers, employers, employees, colleagues and vendors.
Aji distinguishes four categories of innovations:
1. Minor innovations
2. Substantial innovations
3. Major innovations
4. Radical innovations
Each category triggers different moods, narratives, interpretations and actions with competitors and Buyers.
4 Fundamental Categories of Innovation
Aji distinguishes minor, substantial, major and radical innovations.
Each category is used to produce monopolies and auctions. They trigger (1) different assessments of value and (2) new action from competitors and Buyers.
These categories are useful in Aji IFPs when businesspeople are first learning how to use Aji, especially for employees who are innovating for the first time.
Minor Innovations
Are noticed and appreciated but easily ignored by competitors and Buyers.
The added help pleases people but does not increase their value or incomes, or force competitors and Buyers to respond,
e.g., making a helpful but minor change to how people navigate through a website or changing the color on a brochure to make it easier to read.
Substantial Innovations
Force competitors and Buyers to assess the importance, utility and worth of the help the innovation provides.
Buyers will respond in some form to buy the opportunity.
Competitors will move to counter or neutralize its value.
Both can be ignored for a short time.
Major Innovations
Force competitors and Buyers to respond immediately and cannot be ignored.
Buyers will buy quickly and pay a premium.
Competitors will respond quickly with innovations of their own
… to counter or neutralize their value and competitive advantage.
Radical Innovations
Cannot be understood or countered effectively with common sense or common business knowledge.
They can be minor, substantial or major.
They challenge designers to create business narratives with new descriptions, meanings, relevance, value and purposes (DMRVP).