Chuck Frey of the Innovation Tools blog has joined in the discussion of whether innovation is a process or a religion, or both. He tossed a good question into the conversation (emphasis mine):

The former approach [innovation as religion] is typified by Apple Computer, which seems to worship product innovation above all else (at the expense of bottom-line margins), while the latter approach [innovation as process] is typified by Dell Computer, which has elevated business process innovation to almost an art form. It's very hard, however, to find companies that embrace both kinds of thinking about innovation. 3M, perhaps? Disney?

Anybody have any ideas?

While you're thinking, I want to point out that the "religion of innovation" does not only mean product innovation, nor does the "process of innovation" only mean business process innovation. The distinction I had in mind (and what I think John meant when he originally said this) was more along the lines of what Joyce clarified: innovation as a mindset (that would be the religion) vs. innovation as a predictable, measurable process. A company could approach business processes with an innovative-religion mindset, and could take an innovation-process approach to new products.

That said, to answer Chuck's question, I think Southwest Airlines is a good example of a company that approaches innovation as both a religion and a process. The company culture has been steeped in innovation from its inception as a map on a cocktail napkin. Southwest has also applied a process approach to its innovations in business processes and new products (in this case, think of new routes and new cities served as "new products").