Innovator

“Improvement” is to make something better maintaining the current basic direction or rules. “Innovation” is to create something drastically better denying or opposing to the current basic direction and rules.

Improvement and Innovation seems similar but different. They are similar because they make things better. However, Improvement affirms the current basic direction and rules but Innovation rejects the current basic direction and rules.

Nowadays, there is a strong demand for “Innovation”. Because the change in our social environment is too extreme and just conserving how it was in the past and following the way it used to work, is not enough. So how are we able to foster the innovators? Unfortunately, I think that it is almost impossible to foster them.

On the contrary, the innovators are often attacked from the conservatives who want to protect the basic heritage. But you can not foster an innovator by protecting them. Because, to be a true innovator is to be able to overcome any hazard they might encounter.

In a book called “The ants that doesn’t work are important” (by Eisuke Hasegawa), the author introduces that the “Foolish ants: the ants that do not follow the rules, finds a short cut to the food”. I could imagine that our human society happens to be the same, because I am just wondering that an “Innovator” could be born from the fool (who does not affirm the current situation). Steve Jobs also said, “Stay hungry, stay foolish”.