It’s better to be an innovator than an inventor.

                  It’s better to be an innovator because it’s more rewarding.   No one ever built a great company by being the first to do anything.  The first person to get something right is not the first person to get something perfect.  Innovation is about perfecting the craft of product creation, while invention is merely the first spark that can lead to a product down the line.

                  The world has seen its fair share of failed inventions.  One particular failed invention is the Concorde.  The Concorde enabled supersonic flights between the UK and the east coast of America.  Flights could transport individuals from London to D.C. or New York in around three hours.  Though a remarkable feat, it was far from perfect, and its pitfalls made it an unsustainable and unprofitable venture.  The last Concorde flew in 2003.  Some companies have attempted to produce a similar supersonic aircraft, but no one wants these loud, cramped, and expensive machines flying through the skies.

                  Compare that to the innovations at the game maker, Nintendo.  Nintendo first set-up shop in the late 1800’s as a playing card manufacturer.  It’s venture into games were largely the part of necessity, as the company needed to find new streams of revenue in the 1960s.  They started out with small mechanical contraptions and moved into electronics.  Eventually, they started to use old calculator screens to develop arcade games on small handheld devices.  The calculator makers of the time were failing to unload their LCD screen calculators and were looking for a partnership to get them off their hands.  Nintendo’s handheld “Game & Watch” was a hit.  And it all started with outdated technology that was put to good use.

                  Nintendo continues to innovate and has been successful by focusing on gameplay and user experience rather than trying to always implement the latest and greatest technology.  Meanwhile, the Concorde, though a novelty at the time, offered little to the market.  This is why it’s better to innovate than to invent.  Innovators have lasting impacts and cause major shifts in the market.  In other words, innovators make a difference.