Innovation is Key
Organisations are continually striving to be competitive and dominate their industry. Some organisations being old in business, have mastered the art of being leaders, while others have had a bigger impact on the market, more than they could have imagined when starting out. For some, market domination has been sudden, while others have seen their dominance come gradually.
Organisations need to come up with strategies that have not been implemented by other firms in their sector to stay competitive. They have to be innovative and think out of the box, to achieve market dominance.
The Right Framework
Businesses have been built on a different innovative framework such as, Clayton M. Christensen’s disruptive innovation, which opines that smaller new entrants topple larger successful incumbents, by servicing and developing a solution for a small market not serviced by the incumbent, with products being inferior at first and improving over time, ultimately causing disruption. Another framework is Kim and Mauborgne’s value innovation which is the cornerstone of their blue ocean strategy of going into unpopulated markets dominating those markets by creating new demand. Value innovation seeks to create differentiation and low costs while creating value for both customers and firms in the process. Some companies have done the same by utilising Geroski and Constantino’s fast-second strategy, to corner the market, by allowing existing organisations experiment and innovate and then attacking the market when a dominant design has been established.
They Need Help
In some cases, companies need help in discovering the best approach or path to take to ensure business success. For others, it is business as usual. They have no idea they can improve products and services, streamline processes, improve operations, policies and strategy formulation, to serve customers better, thereby improving business outcomes.
A consulting service might be required, to help organisations determine the best business models they need, to succeed in their business. Technology lies at the forefront of any revolutionary change to a business model or approach. It enables organisations to save time and money, at the same time allowing them to focus on their core business functions. I was having a conversation with a friend over the weekend about how technology drives business productivity. We considered the many wonderful ways organisations can take advantage of these emerging technologies to improve productivity and how start-ups are taking advantage of technology, to become successful.
Whose Agenda?
Then the questions came up: Do you listen to your Customers? Are you pushing your or their agenda? We concluded that the Client’s agenda has to be pushed to achieve the best possible outcome.
It’s not just about selling and making a profit but also being advocates for clients, not pushing your agenda but their own. The first step in this direction is defining the business problem or opportunities that might be evident in the business environment; then figuring out what the best market approach would be for them and lastly, the best technology that would help solve their business problems. The solution might also be to embark on a business intelligence, data warehouse or a big data initiative to make changes to an existing business model and support the new business model that benefits from external markets.
They Are Simply Peculiar
Every business environment is different and too peculiar. Therefore, to take a one size fits all approach in helping organisations navigate the murky waters of the business problem or opportunities, would be a mistake. For example, because a solution has worked in organisation A, does not mean it would be plug and play for organisation B. The general solution concept might apply but there will always be some level of discovery, determining the best approach, modelling and integration.
The best route to take always has to be determined for each organisation, and the course of action might not always be the same. However, the result is expected to be one that enables the organisation to succeed.
