Why is Innovation crucial? There are a number of reason why innovation is crucial to our society, however we will touch on the importance of innovation in due course. As for now we have 12 good enough, pressing reasons by LeAnna Carey as to why we need to Innovate. 1. Survival It’s been said before – companies that are not innovating will not survive. Staying on the cutting edge of your industry requires big thinking and the willingness to think differently. Before your ideas can become a strategic imperative you must transform how you think. Are you a catalyst for change? 2. Revenue It’s a tough market and indulgence is out. If you want customers to open up their wallet, give them a reason to buy your product. Show them something new – an innovation that adds value to their lifestyle. What do you offer the market that is different from any other company and do extremely well? 3. Competitive Advantage Look around at what is happening in the business environment – subtle changes will equal subtle growth. If your target market is looking for you, show up where they are looking – yes, be indispensable to improve market position. The nature of competition has shifted and your brand must demonstrate staying power and differentiation. Is your company the “go to” company for innovation and relevance? 4. Crowdsourcing Stop beating your head against the wall and develop a strategy to tap into the collective creativity and intelligence of the market. A good example is when Pepsi decided to skip the super bowl in favor of a social media campaign to promote their Pepsi Refresh initiative. Generating ideas from outside may stimulate company productivity and performance. How are you embracing collaboration? 5. Possibilities It’s time to get out of your comfort zone and create an environment where ideas are generated. Stumped? A good place to start is vision. Create a framework around your innovation and take it out for a spin. Conversations around potential and challenging the status quo tend to get the creative juices flowing. Do you know how to wrap a story around innovation? 6. Culture Innovation from beyond the hallowed halls of R&D is not new; consider that we are in the era of new knowledge which comes at lightning speed, so empower everyone with the responsibility of innovation. Generating diverse ideas from across the company matrix will build trust, passion, and a fantastic opportunity for employees. Now would be a good time to remember that companies are being compared by their innovation initiatives these days – ever hear of the Global Innovation Index? 7. Creativity Companies with competitive growth trajectories understand how to adapt and they adapt because they have ventured into the creative thinking box with a bit of risk-taking on the side. Individually, the same is true – they have defeated the fear of the failure monster. Are you leveraging your most creative thinkers? 8. Core Values Employees need to know what values are critical to company success and cognizant that your personal values are aligned and reflected. The next great innovation could come from that person down the hall – form a foundation where ideas do more that sit. What communication processes have you implemented to foster innovation? 9. Capture Get on the offensive and capture the market; just remember that all innovation need not be radical. Process or delivery innovation may provide the incremental acceleration to stay in the game and provide sustainability. What value do you bring to the market and customer experience? 10. Leadership Successful leaders understand that they need to set the bar for supporting and generating ideas and innovation. When the c-suite empowers and motivates a culture of innovation you will see a company that cuts through uncertainty with purpose. Does your c-suite reward small wins? 11. Collaboration To share in success, align teams with an innovation vision, rather than a reinvented wheel. Collaboration can rescue unimaginative thinking or unoriginal ideas. At the end of the day, projects work against budgets and a systematic approach for focused collaboration is a lifesaver. What is your participation roadmap where employees can contribute? 12. Entrepreneurship Braden Kelley said it best: “Entrepreneurs and innovators share much in common, and successful entrepreneurs are often those capable of transforming useful inventions into valuable innovations.” Innovation is taking its place back as a key driver for business sustainability and changing the way value is captured. In fact, over the past year, my most dynamic (and memorable) conversations have been with those individuals that have experienced a business breakthrough from innovation. What is one trait that these innovators have? A relentless commitment to possibilities. Would you say that is one of your traits?
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 13:46:27 +0000
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