Innovation: Where Do Ideas Come From?
At Ezassi, we work with global innovation leaders who all are constantly grappling with the same big question: where do innovative ideas come from? While there is no definitive answer that can be applied across the board to all businesses and industries, exploring this question helps to shape strategies and find the right balance between fostering internal innovation and investing in open innovation. Simply pursing this question helps companies remain focused on being adaptive and progressive and avoid becoming static in a dynamic business environment.
Innovation is more than just a buzzword, but it does have the tendency to feel like an abstract concept that lacks concrete boundaries that can be easily defined. Most businesses recognize that innovation is essential to remaining competitive, but aren’t sure where to begin. The feeling that there are too many choices can stall progress, especially when leaders fear making the wrong decision.
Where Do Innovative Ideas Come From?
Is Creativity Dependent on Ideas, or Are Ideas Dependent on Creativity?
It’s a classic chicken-and-egg scenario worthy of spirited debate—are flashes of inspiration crystals formed in the crucible of creativity, or is creativity the spark kindled by new ideas floating by? The truth is, the relationship between the two is far more symbiotic than hierarchical. One can’t thrive long without the other.
Creativity gives rise to ideas, much like Pixar needs storytellers to bring characters to life. Conversely, a fresh idea can ignite inventive thinking—as if Da Vinci, upon seeing a new contraption, suddenly envisioned an invention of his own. So rather than a one-way street, it’s more like a roundabout: each fuels the other, circling endlessly, enabling breakthroughs whether you’re brainstorming in a Silicon Valley garage or at your local café.
Put simply: without creativity, ideas fizzle out unrewarded, and without ideas, creativity has nothing to sink its teeth into. Both are vital cogs in the wheel of innovation—essential for solving problems, delighting clients, and keeping imagination on tap.
What Are the Psychological Perspectives on the Origin of Ideas?
From a psychologist’s lens, the birthplace of ideas is an intricate dance within our minds. It’s not just neurons firing in the brain—though that’s the hardware behind the magic—but also the invisible processes of thought, memory, and emotion blending together. Much of our creative spark bubbles up from the unconscious, that mysterious backstage where novel connections are made and creative leaps occur.
Interestingly, psychologists also highlight the social nature of inspiration. Our creativity doesn’t thrive in a vacuum; it multiplies when we tap into the thoughts, perspectives, and imaginative leaps of others. In other words, the more we’re exposed to creative minds—think Leonardo da Vinci sketching with inspiration from his Renaissance cohorts, or designers riffing off each other at IDEO—the more fertile our own ideas become.
The Main Sources of Innovation
Fortunately, studies show that innovative ideas tend to come from a few main sources, which can provide valuable guidelines on where to invest time and energy. Ultimately, innovation comes from a combination of internal and external sources. According to Incremental Innovation, here are the most important sources of innovation:
- Customers (accounts for 50% of all innovative ideas)
- Marketing and sales department
- Employees
- Competitors
- Suppliers
- Firm leaders
As the end user, it makes sense that customers would serve as an important source of feedback that leads to innovative solutions that drive transformational changes as opposed to incremental. This means that businesses need to actively seek out, analyze and value customer feedback.
Understanding Diffusion: How Ideas Move Across Cultures
When thinking about where innovation really begins, it’s helpful to consider not just where ideas originate, but also how they travel. This is where the concept of diffusion comes into play. In the world of anthropology, diffusion describes the process by which new ideas, practices, or technologies spread from one group or culture to another.
Through diffusion, a spark of innovation in one corner of the world—say, a new payment technology popularized in Japan—can inspire changes across industries in entirely different regions. This process doesn’t happen in a vacuum: our environments, communities, and interactions all influence and accelerate the sharing of creative solutions.
Countries, companies, and teams benefit by remaining open to outside influences and learning from best practices elsewhere. Cultural festivals, international business partnerships, and even global conferences are arenas where the seeds of new ideas are planted and exchanged. By recognizing and encouraging this flow, organizations increase their ability to adapt and thrive, transforming unique ideas from distant origins into homegrown innovations.
The Anthropological Perspective: How Culture Shapes Innovation
While data and feedback provide a clear roadmap for sourcing ideas, anthropology offers another layer by examining how our environments and communities influence the birth and spread of innovation. Anthropologists often observe that ideas don’t appear in a vacuum—they’re shaped by the interactions, rituals, and beliefs within a community.
Innovation frequently emerges not from solitary genius, but from groups collaborating, sharing, and refining concepts together. This collective approach is what makes some ideas truly transformative, as social dynamics encourage adaptation and reinvention.
A central theme in anthropology is the diffusion of ideas—how innovative concepts migrate from one culture to another, adapting along the way. This transfer is just as important as the initial spark of creativity, highlighting the importance of diverse teams, open communication, and environments where cross-pollination of ideas is possible.
Understanding innovation through the lens of anthropology underscores that both the generation and the journey of an idea deserve attention. By fostering a culture where sharing and adapting ideas is encouraged, businesses can unlock new avenues for progress and creativity.
Philosophers’ Take on the Source of Ideas
Interestingly, philosophers have long pondered the origins of ideas, offering perspectives that add depth to our understanding. Thinkers like Descartes and Locke approached ideas as something deeply rooted in human nature—almost as if they emerged spontaneously from within. To them, ideas weren’t simply reactions to the physical world, but the mind’s unique interpretations and representations of the things we encounter.
In this view, having ideas is an essential part of being human—automatic, reflexive, and sometimes sparked by the simplest interactions with people or objects. The philosophical stance suggests that our capacity for ideas isn’t just a learned behavior, but an innate part of the way we process and engage with the world. While modern innovation looks to customers, teams, and industry trends, these classic perspectives remind us that the spark for new ideas often starts with something less tangible: the way we think and perceive.
Are Humans Uniquely Capable of Having Ideas?
When it comes to the origins of ideas, philosophers such as Descartes and Locke have long argued that the ability to generate ideas is a uniquely human trait. Their theories suggest that the process of forming ideas is closely tied to human consciousness and the mind. According to this school of thought, ideas arise as mental representations—shaped by our perceptions, experiences, and interactions with the world around us.
In this view, humans aren’t just passive recipients of information; rather, we actively create new concepts and solutions. These ideas may seem spontaneous at times—almost surfacing out of thin air as we go about our daily lives. Yet, it’s this reflexive and deeply internal process that distinguishes humans from other species, at least from a classical philosophical standpoint.
Ultimately, these philosophical perspectives reinforce the belief that fostering environments where people are encouraged to reflect and explore is crucial for nurturing innovation. This emphasis on human ingenuity ties directly back to the importance of valuing feedback from those closest to the work—your employees and internal teams.
Don’t Underestimate Existing Resources
The fact that internal employees also represent a significant source of innovative ideas highlights the importance of tapping into existing resources and creating an environment where internal employees are able to explore new ideas while also spending time on daily tasks. The innovation prescription for most companies includes a combination of internal and external input. Finding the right balance is the true challenge, but recognizing that they are both important is the best first step.
Our clients recognize the importance of not just talking about innovation, but actively working to create a culture of innovation that includes targeted programs that reach throughout every level of the organization. While external collaborators can be valuable resources, time and again, we have seen innovative ideas come from employees who may be underutilized or discouraged from sharing ideas due to the company culture. True innovation comes from being open to a wide variety of sources, including those that may already exist, but simply aren’t being used to their full potential.
What to Do When Creative Roadblocks Strike
If you find yourself struggling to come up with fresh ideas, you’re not alone—it happens to even the most seasoned innovators. One effective strategy is to look beyond your immediate circle and invite perspectives from outside your organization. External input, whether from industry experts, thought leaders, or even unconventional sources like customers or academia, can spark new thinking and help you break through creative barriers.
Here are a few practical suggestions:
Engage in Cross-Industry Conversations
Attend conferences, webinars, or networking events in adjacent fields to see how others tackle similar challenges.
Leverage Crowdsourcing
Platforms like Innocentive and IdeaScale let you gather insights from a global community, expanding your pool of inspiration.
Consult Strategic Partners
Reach out to suppliers, consultants, or even friendly competitors for a quick brainstorming session or an informal discussion.
Remember, stepping outside your routine and connecting with different perspectives just might lead to your next breakthrough. Sometimes, all it takes is a conversation to unlock a whole new direction.
The Role of Culture and Environment in Shaping Ideas
Another often-overlooked driver of innovation lies in the influence of our environment and the culture that surrounds us. Just as customer feedback and employee input are invaluable, the context in which we operate acts as fertile ground for new ideas to take root and flourish.
Cultures that encourage open dialogue, curiosity, and knowledge-sharing tend to nurture greater innovation. When teams and departments collaborate rather than compete, and when diverse perspectives are welcomed, unique solutions emerge—often in ways that individual silos simply can’t replicate. This communal mindset doesn’t just foster creativity; it also speeds up how quickly ideas are refined and adopted.
Historical examples abound: consider how concepts like sushi migrated from Japan to become a global phenomenon, or how Silicon Valley’s culture of collaboration and risk-taking turned a pocket of California into the world’s tech epicenter. These cases show that as ideas travel from one community or culture to another, they’re reshaped and improved, gaining new value through exchange.
In short, our surroundings—both physical and social—can act as powerful catalysts, providing access to new perspectives and amplifying the spread of breakthrough innovations. For organizations looking to thrive, cultivating a culture that values shared exploration can accelerate the journey from idea spark to industry shift.