An Article By: Evan Leonard, President
Many companies talk about innovation and the image that pops into their head is a company with no employees. The word is used frequently, yet used in narrow terms or misunderstood completely. I think of the word as impactful to a company’s long term goals in everything from creating new products or services, to improving process, adding business models, expanding markets and transforming your company entirely.
I listed some of the top
reasons companies look to innovate. How
many of these initiatives are on your list for 2017?
To talk about innovation is something we all like to do but who is in charge of these initiatives? Many larger companies have gone so far as to create a new title and position, Chief Innovation Officer. For most companies, especially in the SMB market, there is no budget or position on your future org chart for someone dedicated to innovation. In order to fulfill the need to innovate, some companies are creating committees, teaming with upper management with creative thinkers and vendor partners to meet regularly to kick-start the process.
If you look across your market, some of your competitors are
“born in the cloud” meaning they never adopted the culture of buying clunky servers
and put them in a room somewhere in the office. Instead, they are consuming great point-solutions from vendors who build
specialized applications. This is
letting them leverage some great applications, methodology and tools to lower
their cost or gain a competitive advantage. Innovating and modernizing are
becoming part of the culture of many companies, which also serves as a great
way to attract top talent.
How would you rank the list above? Have you recently looked at your competitors
or analyzed your markets position?
When thinking about innovation, you should automatically
think of the return. Some of the best
returns from innovation are eliminating costs, adding capacity to your staff,
reduction of head count and sales growth. These are easy to track and quantify to reach your goal.
The most important aspect to consider is the future of your
company and marketplace. There are new
competitors entering your market constantly and we need to be mindful of how
they are delivering services, products and customer service.
Don’t be left behind!
