Seven Dangers of Innovation

WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL BY PATRICE TSAGUE

Do you ever think twice about innovation?
Do you know the dangers that innovation can bring?
What are the innovation caution signs that you should be alert to?

Seven Dangers of Innovation

Despite the numerous positive contributions that innovation has brought to the world, it can also have negative aspects. Scripture declares that man was made in the image of God – upright and sinless with the capacity to innovate with perfection. However, due to sin, humanity has used the ability to innovate in ways that are harmful to others and to God’s creation. 

Also, challenges may occur if an innovation is conceived too far ahead of its time, or if the development and implementation of it is too expensive or unmarketable. Any of these challenges can lead to business instability or even failure. To avoid these pitfalls, and to ensure that new developments and breakthroughs are used in the right way, we must be cautious and seek the wisdom of God as we approach innovation. 

 Here are seven dangers to avoid:

1. Greed – Innovation can be an act of greed. You can be motivated purely to make more profits and accumulate wealth. Though you can make money through innovation, make sure your innovation is motivated by meeting customer needs and improving people’s lives.
   
   
2. Pride – Innovation can be motivated by a desire to boast about our intellect or our genius. This is due to hubris – overconfident pride combined with arrogance – which can lead to innovative recklessness. To safeguard against this, submit your ideas to your management team and professional advisors, and make sure that the innovation is meeting a timely need.
   
   
3. Fostering sin – Innovation can create and nurture a culture of sin or bring harm to others. If we do not yield our ideas to the word of God, it could go out of bounds and lead others, or ourselves, into sin. Our innovations must be guided by the Holy Spirit, and Biblical principles must be our guardrails. We must make sure we do not harm others, or the environment, through innovation.
   
   
4. Wrong timing – Sometimes innovators can be too early to market. As a result, the consumer is not ready for the product, or we are not able to garner market acceptance. This can lead to product or business failure. Be discerning, watch the rhythm of the market, and make sure you are keeping pace with the market direction while still being a change agent.
   
   
5. Too much change, too quickly – Innovation requires change but sometimes too much change, or change that occurs too quickly, can be negative. Also, a perception of change for change’s sake can be discouraging to a team. While it is true that change facilitates growth and growth necessitates change, the process of change must be measured, effective, and timely.
   
   
6. Unmarketable – An innovation must not just meet needs – it must also be marketable. Some innovations can be difficult to market, simply because they are different. Just because it is a good idea does not always mean you can sell it. If an innovation can not be marketed, then it will be unsustainable. Make sure you can sell the innovation with a healthy profit margin.
   
   
7. Being too expensive – Innovations can be costly because of the need for research and development and production of prototypes. Some innovations go through a long period of trial and error (it took 10,000 attempts to make the first successful light bulb!). It can sometimes cost too much to bring an innovation to market, and therefore too costly for the consumer to afford. Count the cost and make sure you can afford to be innovative. Then, find ways to bring the innovation to market at the level the customer can afford.
   

You must make sure that your ideas are God-inspired. Even so, throughout the process of research development, production, marketing, and sales, be aware of the dangers that can occur. Seek the counsel of your leadership team, a good business coach, and a team of advisors. Be guided by the wisdom of God and by the biblical principles found in His Word. Execute your ideas with prayer and humility to avoid these dangers.

My prayer for you is that God will give you the wisdom and grace to discern ways to avoid the dangers of innovation, so that you may effectively innovate for His glory.