Measuring Innovation

When it comes to measuring innovation, it can be difficult to identify and measure success.

I like this definition of innovation and it helps me evaluate success:

Innovation is the purposeful application of creativity to actualize a measurable effect on culture.

So, some benchmarks might include:

• Purpose

• Use of creativity

• Effect on culture

While I wouldn't want some universal rubric for innovation, I'd be interested to see how Harvard Business School and investors in start-ups measure this. 

I did some quick Googling and came across Commodore Innovation. I like this pitch:

You need innovation metrics that fit your context.

Innovation metrics have to fit your context. You could borrow from how conventional projects are measured. But that will probably stifle learning and, therefore, innovation. You could look at industry surveys of common innovation metrics. But then you risk capturing and communicating information that doesn’t actually help you / your teams / your management make decisions.

In other words, we need an innovative way to measure innovation!