Advantages of innovation
Innovation can deliver significant benefits. It is one of the critical skills for achieving success in
any business. It can help you solve problems, generate profit, increase your market share and
edge out competitors.
Advantages of innovation in business
Some of the key practical benefits of innovation are:
improved productivity
reduced costs
increased competitiveness
improved brand recognition and value
new partnerships and relationships
increased turnover and improved profitability
Innovation enables problem-solving and provides creative insight that allows you to look at
things from a different perspective, regardless of whether you are developing a new product,
refreshing strategy or finding an original way to stay ahead of the competition.
How you approach innovation will depend on your business. Typically, it can be an enhancement
to your existing product or service, an expansion to your business or a complete change of
direction
Five Reasons Why Innovation Fails
Calling “innovation” a business buzzword is an
understatement. In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven
world, every business leader knows they have two choices:
i nnovate or sink away into irrelevance.
Despite this dire imperative, businesses fail to innovate all
the time. Getting an organization of individuals to work
together and create something truly novel is a challenge
even the greatest leaders struggle with.
Here are five major reasons why innovation fails:
1. Misaligned Incentives
I remember when everyone who was anyone in the
business world used a BlackBerry phone. It was the most
innovative mobile device on the market -- until the
standard smartphone came along. People got used to
typing on flat screens, and smartphones quickly evolved
into digital cameras as much as voice and communication
devices. BlackBerry lost its innovative leadership position.
The company had already proven they could innovate, so
why didn’t they adjust to the market and come up with a
better product? BlackBerry’s demise is a classic example
of how successful businesses grow, company culture
changes and true innovation goes by the wayside.
As your business grows, it’s important for leaders to link
career advancement to ongoing innovation activities.
Create incentives that encourage employees to continue to
think outside of the box instead of following the status quo.
2. Lack Of Preparation
I’ve discussed the necessity of creating a culture of
innovation in other content I’ve published, and it applies to
this topic as well. Creating a culture of innovation is
essential if you want to really change your business and
maintain momentum in creative product development. And
it’s not something you can do overnight.
Leadership and management need to develop strategies to
get buy-in at every level of the business. As mentioned
above, proper incentivization is an important aspect of it.
Start with your company vision and goals as a base point
for creating a path to change. Clearly communicate your
vision and goals with your employees, and empower them
to be a part of the change process. Be prepared to invest
in new innovation strategies, technologies and processes
before the word “go.”
3. Misunderstanding Your Market
Misunderstanding your market is one of the worst
innovation failures your organization can make. And you
won’t even realize you’ve failed until the product has gone
to market.
Even if you perform expensive market research for
product development, it’s easy to lead yourself astray on
simple assumptions. When fielding new innovative ideas,
you need to constantly ask:
• What is this innovative idea a solution for?
• Is this really a problem that needs solving?
• Is there market data that backs up the answers to the
previous questions?
Even after your teams come up with innovative product
ideas, keep rechecking your assumptions and testing
product and market fit to ensure you avoid this pitfall.
4. Prioritizing Technology Over Solutions
Technology plays a huge role in innovation for the majority
of businesses today -- even more so when you work in the
digital space like I do. Adopting new technologies is
necessary if you want to develop new innovation processes
or even new kinds of products. But often, new technology
is prioritized over the real goals behind using it.
At least in product development, innovation is defined as
creating novel solutions to consumer problems. Sometimes
technology is required to achieve this, but not always.
There are many ways to develop unique solutions to
consumer pain points without having to go high tech.
Don’t let your business overlook these opportunities.
5. Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy is one of the biggest killers of innovation in
organizations across industries. In today’s fast-paced
market, the process of ideation to creation must be
optimized for speed and efficiency. I wonder how many
world-changing innovative ideas are sitting at the bottom
of a stack of papers on some CEO’s desk as I write this. I
wonder how many are sitting at the bottom of the pile on
my own desk right now.
The bureaucracy issue only gets worse the more your
organization grows. Structures and leadership are in place
for a reason, but you need to make structures more agile
when it comes to innovation. Start by having leadership
communicate their willingness to hear about innovative
ideas from people at any level of the business. Then, have
standards in place to ensure these ideas are effectively
communicated to key decision makers early on.
The Bottom Line
Successful innovation isn’t a strategic business decision --
it’s an ongoing state of mind that you and your teams must
have if you want to build a culture of innovation and
succeed. The successes and failures of businesses in your
industry and out provide guiding insights on this topic.
Take steps to avoid these innovation pitfalls to help your
organization stay on the path to success.