Pete's View – Different View, Better Results

“Innovation is going to be more intense in 2010.” Jean-Laurent Poitou, Accenture LLC

Now, that is something I totally agree with and something we’ve been seeing. In spite of the recession, the amount of innovation that is happening right now in the marketplace is astounding. I see this especially in the various technology sectors but it’s happening elsewhere as well. What does this mean for you? If you don’t think big, different and even radical then you won’t see the burst of creative energy and ideas that lead to innovation. You need to push your organization’s envelope.

There’s a difference between innovation and invention.

in⋅ven⋅tion – noun • the act of inventing. • U.S. Patent Law. a new, useful process, machine, improvement, etc., that did not exist previously and that is recognized as the product of some unique intuition or genius, as distinguished from ordinary mechanical skill or craftsmanship. • anything invented or devised.

in⋅no⋅va⋅tion – noun • something new or different introduced: numerous innovations in the high-school curriculum; • the act of innovating; introduction of new things or methods.

See the difference? It’s in the introduction of a new idea or thing that makes it an innovation. Innovation is taking action to bring the new to the world.

I’ve commented a number of times in the past year about the need for companies to make innovation a key part of their annual business strategy. Yet, most companies who are in the small to mid-market size (SMB) don’t. In fact, very few companies that I’ve run across in the SMB size actually take the time to develop a sound strategy at all. Puzzling.

It’s time to buck up, buckos. It’s time for you to not only develop a strategy for your business, but to also put into that strategy an innovation strategy. I’d suggest that you do this by looking at where you can be innovative both inside and outside your business.

The inside part is where you can innovate in new processes and techniques to make your business hum faster and smoother, to be more efficient and productive. Make a point to have at least one key initiative in each area of your business in which you and your team will really think outside the box. Get radical and say to yourselves, “It would be really cool if we could do ___” or, “being able to eliminate ___ and get to ___ would pay us huge dividends in product quality and customer satisfaction. Nobody else is doing that.”

The outside part is in providing products and services that are new. Really new. Ones that no one else has provided or introduced into the market yet. What is it that absolutely no one has been able to do yet in your industry? What is it that customers/consumers would love? Two things to think about here: (1) always, always, always do your marketing research homework to give yourself the best possible understanding of what the market is looking for and can’t live without (2) read a wide variety of books, ideas, columns, etc. to get a sense of trends.

We can all take a look at Apple and how they have innovated in a number of product areas. Both the ipod and the iphone products were not only vast improvements over existing competition, they were huge game changers that have forced everyone to catch up. I’m not privy to Apple’s market research, but my guess would be that miniaturization and functionality (inc. extreme ease of use) were consumer wants that Apple saw no one else doing a very good job with. Throw in gorgeous design and they came out winners.

As always, everything you do inside the business must be focused on positively affecting the outside of your business and subsequently, your profitability. Your innovation strategy must be tied to building your business.

© 2010 Peter E. McDowell Pete’s View Interim (Contract) or Permanent Executive Management Services Sales Focused Business Strategies – Business Strategic Planning – Business Best Practices

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