Something I have realized is that we think too much by analogy in the past. Instead of creating something totally carte blanche and brand new, we look to the past for inspiration, and just revive the old.

For example, the “new“ Nissan Z. I still have a soft spot for Nissan, as my most prized car that I purchased when I was 16 or 17 years old was my beloved 1991 Sentra SE-R, two-door coupe, five speed manual transmission, with the infamous SR 20DE engine. With great love I installed a header, intake, and exhaust for it, painted my rims bronze, updated the paint, and took care of the car with great love. When I was in high school, I would spend hours upon hours on the SR20 online forms, figuring out my next modification for my car.

Now, looking at photos of the interior cockpit of the new Nissan Z, and typically old cars, they are all too similar. They are the same.

This is why I have great admiration for Tesla, Elon Musk, etc. Elon and the design team actually had the balls to radically re-innovate the interior and the dashboard. For example, the radically new “yoke steering“ steering wheel for the Tesla model S and the model X. It really is insanely new and innovative, and took great courage to do it. All of the other car companies out there lack the balls, the guts, or the chutzpah to attempt it.

Therefore, in regards to innovation, don’t just take the old things which have worked well in the past and refresh it for the new. While that actually is still innovation, it is boring. Life is too boring to just iterate. To do things radically new is more fun.

INNOVATION THOUGHTS

Breathe new life into yourself!

• Apple is a Photography Company
• CONSISTENCY x NOVELTY
• What‘s the Point of Having the Best?
• The Seed of Innovation
• Innovation is Saying No
• Innovation is Knowing What Not to Do in Your Photography and Life
• Don’t Be Suckered by New Technology
• Keep Innovating, Or Die
• Provoke
• Reduce
• 13 Lessons Steve Jobs Can Teach You