There’s a lot of talk about innovation these days.

We all want innovators.

Well, what does that mean? What does it mean to innovate?

I have a theory, and it has nothing to do with being a genius or coming up with wacky ideas.

When Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone, there was nothing really new about the device.

It was 2007. We had cell phones. We had mobile computers. We had micro-cameras. We had touch screens.

These things all existed, separately.

The “innovation” was bringing things together – connecting.

That was the genius aspect of it. What if we brought all of these things together? What if we connected these things?

The biggest hurdle wasn’t even the tech piece. It was getting a deal with a mobile carrier (AT&T).

This is the reason I think it’s so important to get outside of your bubble. It’s the reason I post about culture and gaming on what is mostly a military site.

Innovation is not someone sitting in a room who comes up with a great idea.

Innovation is someone seeing one thing and understanding that it might fit in another context.

Bringing things together.

Connecting.

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