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    Innovation vs. Invention: Creating Something New Is Only the Beginning

    A silhouetted person stands with arms outstretched beside the ocean at sunset, illustrating that creating something new is only the beginning.

    I think invention and innovation are related but different.

    An invention can exist without changing anything.

    It can be brilliant, patented and technically successful while sitting on a shelf.

    Innovation has consequence.

    It changes a process, behaviour, cost structure, experience, product, industry or outcome in a meaningful way.

    That difference is why commercialization matters so much.

    The inventor's question is often: can this be done?

    The commercialization question is: can this create value in the real world?

    Who adopts it? Why do they change? What infrastructure is required? What does implementation cost? How does the creator capture enough value to sustain the innovation?

    Sometimes the invention itself is only one piece. The business model can be innovative. Distribution can be innovative. Financing can be innovative. The way existing technologies are combined can create more impact than a completely new technology.

    This is why I define innovation broadly.

    Innovation is creativity that changes something.

    The pathway from invention into impact is explored more deeply in Commercialization. The larger creative system sits in Seeing What Others Miss.

    Chad McMillan, creative entrepreneur and strategic advisor
    Chad McMillan

    Chad McMillan is a creative entrepreneur and strategic advisor with over 20 years of experience in and around the capital markets, focused on finding hidden potential in companies, ideas, markets and people, and advancing what they can become.

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