The Key To Staying Ahead

IN today’s marketplace, innovation is a much needed commodity. According to an article in Entrepreneur.com,

“product life cycles are shrinking, global trade is leading to growing competition and the Internet has lowered barriers to entry in many industries.”

You need to know and understand that organisations do not innovate but people do. Let’s take a look at how you can be more innovative in your business today.

1. Embrace the fear of change

While consumers constantly desire new things, it’s typically quite the opposite for businesses, who often have a fear of implementing new ideas.

Consider the benefits of possibilities and create a culture where new ideas are encouraged.

2. Observe your competitors

Look at what competitors are doing. Are their ideas fresh? What is so different about them? What can you learn from them? Pay attention to their strengths and see if you are able to apply these ideas to your own business, team or work. Look at their weaknesses and ask yourself how you would be able to do better.

3. Get it out there

Once you start to generate innovative ideas, don’t just sit and wait for it to happen. Make it happen! Get it out there and develop those ideas. Be bold and share them with peers, superiors and team members to get feedback. Ideas are never perfect to start off with, so keep refining them.

4. Learn from failures

Failures are a part of life. We can’t run away from them. Learn from mistakes because they are much better teachers than successes. Failures reveal opportunities to improve and illuminate areas for potential growth. So, don’t be afraid to make mistakes because not all innovative ideas are successful at the very first attempt.

5. Research and study your market

Go the extra mile to find out what your customers want, whether it’s a product or service. Study the market and analyse new trends. This is where your innovative ideas come in as you may be able to create something better with what you have observed.