Practice Makes Perfect
Introducing the top innovators of...1989. As you would imagine, they've done a lot more innovating in the meantime.
In today's turbulent world, your competitive edge depends on
your ability to innovate. With rapidly changing markets, values,
behaviors and ways of doing business, you must respond creatively
to be profitable. Those who don't lead with innovation lose the
competitive battle.
In 1989, I interviewed the CEOs of six companies that had just
won awards from the Smaller Business Association of New England
(SBANE) for "outstanding success in developing an innovative
idea, method or device, with a proven correlation between its
innovative qualities and its performance." Having started a
consulting practice focused on planning and managing rapid growth,
I wanted to explore how dedication to innovation supports
successful growth.
I recently went back to talk to three of the companies to find
out whether they had sustained their innovative edge over the
intervening years, a volatile period in which most businesses
experienced numerous economic, technological and competitive twists
and turns. I also wanted to know whether their innovative
capabilities were still driving growth.
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In all three cases, the answer to both questions was a
resounding "Yes!"
Each company I revisited has undergone impressive growth,
despite major challenges, including dramatic shifts in each of
their industries. Each company continues to innovate by
re-evaluating, reinventing and repositioning itself in the face of
every type of survival test that can be thrown at an organization
by today's demanding business climate.
The three businesses I caught up with provide ideas about how
you can build and sustain innovation in your own company. One key
is for the thirst for continuous innovation to be driven from the
top every day. Give your employees the model they need to make
innovation a way of life, which, in turn, will make growth a way of
life for your business. Here, then, are the stories of three highly
successful organizations where innovation is the lifeblood that
drives success.
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