The Secret to an Innovative Company
Want to know one of the secrets of a truly innovative company? Communication!
The faster and more clearly you communicate as a team, the faster you can change when you need to innovate and improve. Change is a byproduct of the cadence of communication, and when it comes to the secrets of a truly innovative company, it’s an iterative process, not an event.
Teams need to understand:
- What are your most valued customers doing? What do they need, and how would they prefer to receive from your company? How can you better fulfill their needs?
- What are the trends happening — not only in your individual market, tech, or global landscape. Pay attention to trends that are happening in the world around you, and how those trends might apply to your industry.
- Understand where your company excels; at the core of the organization, where is its strength, its best or most unique capabilities?
When you look at the intersections of these needs, trends, and strengths, you will find the most prosperous avenues for growth and innovation. Maybe you will find opportunities in geographic expansion, product line increase, or even some crazy new idea that you can bet on in order to increase your company’s value to your customers.
To fuel innovation, you have to open your eyes. You can be the best in your industry, but that won’t last forever if you don’t keep moving forward with the world around you. Keep a regular cadence of strategic conversations about trends and strengths with your executive team. Ask, “Where are we now, and where we are going? Where do we want to go?”
Look for unusual, trend-setting opportunities in the marketplace. Consider future technologies, talk about how they are going to interact with your business, and get ahead of the curve. How will driverless cars impact your pace? Drone deliveries? 3-D metal printing, smart cities, or earphones that translate countless languages? The intersection of tech and business isn’t always obvious, but planning to take advantage of these technologies can help your company get ahead — and stay ahead.
