The Critical Factor of Innovation

To bail or not to bail, a question before Washington and the court of public opinion. For Detroit auto makers, it appears the proposed bail out for them is dead, at least for today, anyway. No matter where you weigh in on this bailout, there are no easy answers here. What can be said of a group ofcompaniesthat relinquished any competitive position in the car building industry in favor of gas-guzzling trucks and SUV’s? Detroit perhaps took the worst route of all, recognizing that it was just easier to dominant in the market demand for trucks and SUV’s by the American consumer rather than innovate and battle it out with the more efficient, better-built imports over cars.

Innovation. Easy word to say but hard to put into practice. Yet the failure to innovate by these auto makers has pushed them to the brink of a precipice. A question we need to all be asking ourselves is this: how do we move forward towards innovation and change to create long-term sustainability and success?

To help address this question, I’ve provided some points to ponder. We all need to consider how we’re going to innovate as we head into a new year that could well be far more tumultuous than 2008. But if we truly can innovate and change, then the coming year may very well set the stage for enormous opportunities.

1) There are two kinds of companies – those in touch with the future and those operating in the past, which is already obsolete (Google vs. GM, as examples). The future is not only now, but also yesterday because as you sense the future just about to unfold tomorrow, then you need to be already looking towardsthe next future ready to be released after tomorrow. What is your next future and what does it look like for you, your staff andyour clients?

2) To afford innovation you have to have less to lose. If you eliminate all possible overhead, you’ll more easily afford innovation. If you have high overhead then you’remarried to past business practices. And even if these practices are generating profits now, it may not last becauseflexibility is the real security in today’s economic climate and a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality no longer cuts it.

3) Innovation – bothsmall and large- is the new currency for success; competition is the old currency. If you just compete in your industry, you’ll only be incrementally better. But if you innovate, you’ll set new standards and be the leader ahead of the curve.

3) Business knowledge is essential, but innovation and flexibility are real power. The newformula for success puts less emphasis on knowledge and more on innovation and flexibility, with a ratio that may look something like this: 20% critical knowledge/80% innovation and flexibility.

4) Take a page and learn from those colleagues or companies you see as innovative. Apple’s Steve Jobs described one aspect of innovation as “saying no to 1,000 things so as to concentrate on the really important creations.”

5) Innovation and change is multi-level. This means It probably won’t be enough to create innovation and change from the top down. Company leaders will need to involve their whole teams in the process. It’s not that innovation can’t happen in a conference-room vacuum but why limit brainstorming to just top-level executives and managers? Adopt the mandate that your company is about innovation and change and that every staff member has the opportunity to contribute to this innovation.

And finally, ask yourself one more key question: is how you’re doing business today a model for growth or a model for contraction? If past and current business strategies point towards contraction then you must begin to innovate your products or services or potentially face the same precipice as Detroit. The critical factor of innovation may very well determine just how well — or poorly — your company rides out 2009.

Author: Carol Flagg
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Cellphone news