“Innovation” is a word CEOs hear all the time. Your company
must be innovative. In order to stand out in a tough economy you need to
innovate. It’s a buzzword that you can’t escape, but what exactly does it mean?
How exactly can create an innovative environment? Fast Company’s
editor-in-chief Robert Safian thinks he knows the answer.
Here are Safian’s 8 principles of innovation:
- Growth should be a tactic, not a strategy: quality over quantity is a principle Starbucks has used to revitalize its brand
- Big companies need to be as nimble as startups: agility is key if you want to keep up with new technologies and a constantly changing marketplace
- Tech is disruptive in unexpected places: technology affects all industries, Safian gives the examples of LegalZoom (legal documents), KivaSystems (robots in warehousing) and Polyvore (fashion)
- Design is a competitive advantage: don’t ignore the user experience
- Social media makes products and services better: all organizations can benefit from social media, just look at the National Marrow Donation Program as an example
- Data is power: compiling and storing data makes (and keeps) you highly relevant
- Money is flowing: banks aren’t the only place to find funding anymore, just look at Kickstarter and Y Combinator
- Copycats are history: you need to be original across all markets, new ideas are coming out of BRIC countries too. chief executive
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Jim Woods
is president and founder of InnoThink
Group; a global innovation, growth
and hypercompetition consultancy. He is an author and speaker on strategic
innovation, education and competitive advantage. To hire Jim to speak to your organization - Call 719- 649- 4118 or email us for availability. Subscribe to our innovation and hypercompetition newsletter.
