INNOVATION by DESIGN: What It Takes to Keep Your Company on the Cutting Edge

Chapter 1. Perspectives on Innovation

There is no doubt that the twentieth century will be credited as the century of innovation. It may not have witnessed the building of the pyramids or the Roman aqueducts or the birth of the Italian Renaissance, but there were monumental achievements that made a profound difference in how societies live and communicate. Whether all innovations helped society achieve an improved lifestyle remains to be established. Twentieth-century innovations had the following effects:

• Changed us from an agrarian society to an industrial society

• Built the infrastructure of the nation

• Revolutionized communication, erasing barriers of time and place

• Reduced the drudgery associated with many jobs

• Almost doubled longevity

• Reduced work ...