Recently, I was reading an interesting case study of a mobile phone manufacturing company that until a couple of years ago was the world’s leading and preferred brand, and suddenly it is struggling to keep up with the competition. The reason? Well, competitors have succeeded in introducing better, cheaper, faster products with superior technology.
Happens all the time. Nothing stays forever. Products, ideas, services, everything changes. Best-selling products lose their shine and become outdated if they don’t keep up with the times and changing trends. People/organizations who rise to the top by being imaginative and flexible are also sometimes in a comfort zone. While they fail to explore new directions and become complacent, they give young competitors the opportunity to overtake them, leaving them with two simple options: Innovate or Perish.
Someone rightly said that ‘the best way to predict the future is to invent it’. Consider an example of a successful company, its products, services, people, and you will find that the secret to its success lies in a culture that promotes innovative thinking as a way of life. The leaders of such organizations force their people to think about how everything around them can be improved. Even when they are at the top, they appreciate and respect the fact that the only way to maintain that position is by exploring new directions to offer better products, reduce costs, produce faster, and keep customers happy.
Every organization, regardless of its size, has to innovate to survive and prosper. Here are my top seven tips on what you can do to stay alive in business:
Never rest on past laurels because any newcomer with a better offer can knock you off the top.
Don’t wait for opportunities; create them by looking for new trends and developments.
Stay on top of any new technology in your field and be among the first to try it, if necessary, train your people and adapt it to your business.
Talk to people related to your business, your customers, suppliers, employees and take their suggestions and ideas on how things can be improved.
Create a culture of having creative brainstorming sessions in your organization, as they will constantly feed you information for small improvements and can also pave the way for an innovative idea.
Get new perspectives on your business from all possible sources such as newspapers, magazines, seminars, television, etc.
Every quarter you ask everyone on your team this question: What are the 3 things that you or our company most need to change?
Let’s leave this thought: ‘People who change after change will survive; people who change with change will succeed; the people who cause change will lead’. So go ahead and lead, don’t just survive!
