Be a Innovation Tactician Not a Strategist.

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“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:  

1. Growth should be a tactic, not a strategy: quality over quantity is a principle Starbucks has used to revitalize its brand
2. 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
3. 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)
4. Design is a competitive advantage: don’t ignore the user experience
5. 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
6. Data is power: compiling and storing data makes (and keeps) you highly relevant
7. Money is flowing: banks aren’t the only place to find funding anymore, just look at Kickstarter and Y Combinator
8. 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.