Efficiency and innovation

We can think about solving problems efficiently or innovatively. Often we confuse the two though. If we become more efficient at putting Part A to Part B together faster today than yesterday it must be innovative. It certainly can be innovative to come up with a new technique or machine or idea to do things better, safer, faster, and more reliably. However, the kind of innovation we see is not baby steps but a giant leap. We want to see a whole new approach to solving a problem we didn’t think needed to be solved. Which takes insight, luck, and seeing things that others can’t.