Why Innovate?

Those of us who are innovators know this already. It doesn't hurt to be reminded of the purpose and importance of innovation to business, though.

In business, everything always changes. Or at least that's the safe assumption. The regulatory environment, the competitive landscape and the maze of technology are constantly shifting. Businesses that decide they do not need to innovate for the future are making an interesting choice: the choice not to exist in the future.

Eventually, if a business stays in one place for long, it becomes irrelevant. Your competition is always looking for new, better, faster, cheaper ways to satisfy your customer's requirements. Your customers are also discovering new needs and opportunities of their own. A business that ignores this constant change can virtually guarantee its non-existence in the future.

If the cost of ignoring innovation seems high, so does the cost of innovating. Many businesses have had the experience of R&D projects that floundered and went nowhere while swallowing vast quantities of dollars and time. The next logical step is an interesting one. Having had that negative experience, the directors often conclude that if that is how innovation is done, then they should steer clear of it from now on.

The correct conclusion should be that there must a better way than that to pursue innovation. Missed milestones, blown-out budgets and vague goals that are never realized are hallmarks of the DIY approach to innovation that so often results in catastrophe. If that is happening in a project, the solution is easy. The solution is experienced Leadership with specific training in the art and science of Innovation.

Businesses invest significant capital in their production assets and in the connections that make the company what it is. Customer relationships, partnerships with complementary businesses, and mutually profitable arrangements with vendors and service providers. The part that is often overlooked is the investment in the company's corporate knowledge.

When smart companies invest in themselves, they look after all three categories: assets, connections and corporate knowledge. The latter is done by actively pursuing new, accurate and valuable knowledge that keeps their business relevant into the future. And that, as I've said previously, is the big secret of what innovation is all about. Creating knowledge, not prototypes.

Why innovate? Because there's money to be made! But only by businesses that can respond to change with vision, agility, and purpose.