Monday Morning Mojo

Getting Business Innovation Right.

Innovation is nothing if not successful. If you’ve read the innovation literature, I know you've heard about letting your people be creative and maintaining a tolerance for mistakes. You’ve seen the lists that include things like: play, curiosity, intuition, collaboration, and failure.

I’ll probably tick a lot of innovation pundits off when I say this: business leaders work hard to minimize failure and innovation is no exception. Qualities like play and curiosity are a wonderful part of everyday life, but they are not nearly enough to drive results in commerce. Here’s my bottom line: if you're not innovating to win in the marketplace, you're not doing business innovation.

Innovation is the development of new products or services that succeed in the market. Everything else is something else: an experiment, a mistake, a failure, a missed opportunity, or a foray in creativity. Call it what you will. It's not business innovation.

Business innovation is welded to customer value. They are inseparable. You must - no exceptions - generate value for your clients. If you do not, you have failed. Your efforts will not last.

Likewise business innovation is indivisible from revenue growth. It must result in increased profits one way or another - in the near term or the long term - or it's a waste of time. That's why it's called business.

Sometimes business innovation is about introducing new ways of working. Often these days it means dealing successfully with disruption. Of particular interest is coping with our down economy, responding to a revolutionary product that is sweeping through the marketplace and laying waste to existing industries, and the rapid rise of new competitors and business models.

Seven Principles for Getting Innovation Right
Here are seven fundamental principles that I rely on in my work helping business leaders meet the market with traction and successful execution. By following these principles, you can stack the deck in favor of success.

1. Bring in experts who have forged their mettle in battle.
Getting the right people into play is always the way to go. Bring in folks who know the territory, who can apply their hard earned experience to your circumstances.

2. Listen to the market - do your competitive intelligence.
Due diligence means taking the time to identify the trends at play. You want to consult with other players, partners, people on the front lines and thought leaders. Cut the right balance between the past (data and experience) and the future (trends and patterns). Gather customer intelligence and analyze business trends. Put the puzzle together before you figure out how you fit in.

3. Don’t abandon business basics.
Business is still business. Don’t confuse new applications and models with changing the fundamentals. You still need to know your audience, build the relationships that provide traction, generate value people want, and provide the best products and service in ways that build your gravity and brand. Revenues must exceed expenses - the sooner the better; profits are all important. Keep to the fundamentals.

4. Study and leverage emerging trends.
Don't live with your head in the sand. Make a point of monitoring the frontiers in your field. Study, study, study. Learn what others have done, why they succeed and fail. Track down thought leaders and futurists. Scope your forays into the future properly. Don’t go too far out, but don’t stay too close to where you are. Balance risk with opportunity.

5. Reframe your challenges and ask what can be done to leverage them for your customers’ benefit.
Don't get too caught up in trying to keep things from falling apart or cutting costs. They are ultimately losing propositions. Reframe your challenges so you see the variables at play. Then ask, how can these be used to win? Never lose sight of your quest to generate value - it's the primary motive force.

6. Build bridges to the future.
Internal stress can slow you down. Business processes that are slow to evolve are killers. So are internal mindsets that give all the reasons why new things cannot be done. Invest first in your own mind, then in your people. Develop the skill of working toward the future. Evolve your business processes to take advantage of new technologies.

7. Prepare for success so you’re drawing it to you, not running after it.
Too many business leaders are chasing carrots or running from sticks. Be a center of gravity. Carve out the space that is yours and pull others toward you. When you represent the future, when you are leaning headlong into new ways of generating value in the market, you will find resources coming your way. Everyone wants to be part of success. Associate yourself with the way forward.

Business innovation is a nonstop enterprise, especially these days. Technology continues to revolutionize our environment. The economy is an ongoing challenge. New business models are popping up like daisies on a warm spring day. Lean into it and push for success. But, do it smartly. Innovation for innovation's sake is not much to rely on. Business innovation that succeeds in the market is what it's all about.

VisionaryLeadership.com