INNOVATION - The Way Forward

I was wondering this evening about how some entrepreneurs managed to stay ahead of competitors. How they managed to create a blue ocean strategy within the industry? Imagine swimming in a sea of red ocean and they successfully managed to swim ahead using different strokes and stay untouchable.

I have the advantage of experiencing an organization who has been a leader ending up been a follower in the very same industry they have managed to head for sometimes and  also gratefully been in another organization who are able to sustain their leadership advantages despite the challenges from competitors throwing all sort of spanners toward them. Again i thought, how we managed to do it?.

The topics of discussion I am into is very relevant in today industries.

INNOVATION

In 2009 when i was in China on business trip, my company Joint CEO was invited by me to join me on this trip. Both of them was delighted and fly over from our company HQ in France to join me on the week long trip starting in Shanghai. Meeting over dinner, I said, "Innovation is the way forward now boss!"

In my mind, I am very conscious to the fact that without innovation, a leader will be irrelevant. Without innovation, a company business will go out of business in matter of few years. Without innovation, you will become a follower instead with your competitor taking over the leadership.

Innovation is a term which meant "creating new ideas in product, process or new way of doing things"

The key to sustainable growth in any organization. That is what it meant and that it is.

In an aggressive sustainable economic growth country like China, innovation is the key to ensure leadership sustainability.

Some innovation are inherent. I.e. it is there naturally. For example a cheap labor market, the availability to abundance resources available with the knowledge to use this to their advantage is a kind of innovation. Many countries have the same resources but yet remain poor for centuries!

But having this type of advantages without further investment for further improvement will also be risky to the sustainability.

Let leave this behind and look at organization. We can have many examples in the corporate world about companies losing leadership due to lack of innovation. Remember NOKIA who refused to follow the trend in moving to androids platform? Let look at APPLE computer. Apple is a classic example of what innovation can do for organization. Leader....to follower and now back to leadership role in industry. We think Microsoft has been monopolizing the IT industry for far too long. Why? The answer is simple. They never stop developing new product based on the original product introduced decades ago. I.e. innovate to make it better.


 KEY to INNOVATION

a) Listen to your customer- when your customers commented or demanded certain features or a new product, do not ignore them. I know of companies who eat humble pie later. Customer feedback is important to all innovation.
b) Listen to your employees - employees feedback from the sales and operation are sometimes ignore by top management due to their own confidence level on the products that they have. But these feedback can made an impact as employees has the "feel from the consumer perspective".
c) Review your process - accept the reality why your competitors can sell better quality and cheaper products. Check what your organization can do to change process with new innovation out of the box thinking to make your process more reliable and efficient. Change is difficult and some employees may think it as unnecessary but to stay ahead, management need to brainstorm it out.
d) New Design Development - cutting back on R n D is bad for business. Striving for new product design and idea is always the way forward
e) Look at your Supply Chain - Is your supply chain get bogged down and increase in cost? Is your suppliers working together with you? Sometimes, the best innovation comes from your suppliers if the collaboration and partnership are well oiled. Your supplier may have ideas how to make thing better in term of material quality which will help your process. They may introduce a new process in their own production to ensure you have a high quality product which in turn increase your efficiency level.
f) Understand the market -  The failure of NOKIA in moving to new technology is their own downfall in the mobile phone segment. The failure in understanding the market needs and new consumer behavior. If they can fail, any organization who fail to understand the market will suffer as well.
g) Create an "open" organization culture -  Most employees will be suffocated in a close system. Reluctant or unable to send messages or suggestion will stifle growth. Creating an open system will definitely help.
h) Venture to new area of business -  innovation can also meant diversification. Innovate to reborn your organization in a new market area. Some failure of business are also due to the reluctant to move to new territory. This could be due to lack of information, knowledge and a team of capable employees. Involving in down stream or upstream business is innovation in itself. Thinking of way to expand your marketing net.
i) Moving human capital - there always a statement about the importance of retaining useful human capital. I totally support this. However, it is and will remain a reality forever that allowing our human capital to move around or away and welcoming of new resources is never a bad strategy. It energizes new ideas to making thing happen. 

Innovation in business is a blue ocean strategy. Make use of the asset organizations has to full advantage. The cycle of innovation can be never stop. What is a new strategy today will be obsolete tomorrow.

Leadership in your market area today do not guaranteed the same tomorrow. It just like sport. Tiger Woods was a leader in golf for more then a decade. Yet he has to give way now. The spirit of innovation has to continue and repeated over and over again just like we having breakfast every morning. The menu can and will change.