Innovation means different things for different people. For a technologist, a technical solution is an innovation, for a Banker a financial service is an innovation, for a consultant a process is an innovation, for manufacturers– a new product is an innovation and for the common man – anything new is an innovation.
If you look at the definition of Innovation in Webster, it is:
“the introduction of something new”
Free Dictionary defines Innovation as
“something newly introduced, such as a new method or device”
In MBA Application essays, you have to write about innovation in multiple contexts - career, teamwork, or individual achievements. AdCom wants to learn about innovation at project level.
1) Did you create a new methodology to solve a business problem?
2) Did you come up with an idea that was the basis for a new solution?
3) Did you introduce a new process to improve the efficiency of the team?
4) Did you introduce tools that enabled the team members to solve the problem, communicate, and manage the tasks in a more holistic manner?
When you are part of a big organization, innovation is a buzzword for selling products. Other than that, you follow the rules of a traditional company with strict adherence to processes and quality guidelines, but even in a strict controlled environment, ideas sprout. Explaining the ideas devoid of any jargons and industry terms is a challenge.
If you were one of the founders or part of the founding team in a start-up, the opportunities to address innovation are plenty - right from developing the idea for a new product, to implementation, to marketing them to a targeted audience, to offering customer service - there are several instances for innovation, and opportunities to address them.
AdCom should understand the context and the environment of a start-up. They appreciate resourceful candidates and innovation by definition requires thinking outside the box.
Resourcefulness + Innovation = Great Candidate
Any environment that encourage experimentation with a higher degree of tolerance for failure will eventually produce more innovative solutions. Unique ideas do not come from a team that fears failure. You can explain how you created an environment of experimentation.
Introducing new ideas, tools, and processes are not enough when you think about innovation from a business context. What does it mean for the organization? Did you increase revenue for the company with an innovative solution? Innovation should increase the revenue or save money for the company. Otherwise, it is just a creative solution. Be ready with the numbers - the dollar saved or earned with the solution. Calculate the man hours saved; travels avoided, or overall savings in project costs when you quote the numbers.
To learn how to position yourself as an innovator, and a leader different from the run of the mill candidates who write about trivial problem solving or achievements as Innovation, read F1GMAT's Winning MBA Essay Guide
About the Author
I am Atul Jose, Founding Consultant of F1GMAT, an MBA admissions consultancy that has worked with applicants since 2009.
For the past 15 years I have edited the application files of admits to the M7 programs: Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth, Kellogg School of Management, and Columbia Business School, together with admits to Berkeley Haas, Yale School of Management, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, SDA Bocconi, IESE Business School, HEC Paris, McCombs, and Tepper, plus other programs inside the global top 30.
My work covers the full MBA application deliverable: career planning and profile evaluation, application essay editing, recommendation letter editing, mock interviews and interview preparation, scholarship and fellowship essay editing, and cover letter editing for funding applications. Full bio with credentials and admit history is here.
I am the author of the Winning MBA Essay Guide, the best-selling essay guide covering M7 MBA programs. I have written and updated the guide annually since 2013, which makes the 2026 edition the thirteenth.
The reason I still write and edit essays every cycle: a good MBA essay carries a real applicant's voice. Writing essays for F1GMAT's Books and Editing essays weekly is how I stay calibrated to what current admissions committees respond to.
Contact me for school selection, career planning, essay strategy, narrative development, essay editing, interview preparation, scholarship essay editing, or guidance documents for recommendation letters.