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Innovation is Crucial to Success

innovation-is-crucialAre you resting on your laurels as a company completely ‘secure’ that you have accomplished enough and don’t need to create or innovate to remain successful? Well, you couldn’t be more wrong. This thought process could have worked in the past when the number of products and companies were limited and simply tweaking the products and offerings sufficed to stay ahead. However, the market has changed significantly. It is the age of globalization and digitization and without innovation and sustainable creativity even survival would be only a dream.

The resources available to us are limited but the emergence of new technology and a spurt in new companies with varied products and services have increased the pressure on the resources. Given these factors, it has become imperative to think creatively and innovatively in order to improve efficiency, cut costs, increase productivity and encourage sustainability. Customer expectations have also changed – the customer of today is smart, tech-savvy and knows where to find the information they need. They are unwilling to settle for less or anything but the best. These new demands from and expectations of customers have also led to the innovation drive, as companies strive to gain market share, profits and veer customers away from competition and retain their existing customer base.

The major benefit of innovation for companies is that they would be able to ensure that their products and offerings stand head and shoulder above the crowd. Price wars are self-defeating and hence the only other way is to provide ingenious products that cannot be found elsewhere, services that no one else provide and top class customer service to match. While companies continue to strive to provide to customers what they continually expect, another great benchmark would be to observe and learn from competition. They could be doing something right and by doing it better, not only do companies prove their mettle in the realm of innovation but also are able to provide customized and personalized products and services that would have many takers in the market. Taking innovation few steps forward, companies can also create products before anyone else in the market does. In the words of Steve Jobs – “It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” This is a highly innovative way of thinking and spelt success for his company.

Innovation is the key to advancement. An innovative mind-set does not only serve a company but individuals, the society and the world at large. Innovation focuses on improvement and as a result raises the standard and quality of living and provides opportunities to all to better their lives. Breakthroughs and successes are achieved with a mind-set of innovation, as people think of better ways to do things with reduced costs, minimal labour and efficient processes. With an innovative thought process, people discover opportunities that they did not know existed either currently or in the future. It is no wonder then that companies are increasingly including innovation as part of their overall business strategy and encouraging their employees and other business partners to all think beyond what is immediately apparent.

Innovation becomes a benchmark – people begin to regard you as a leader thereby enhancing your reputation and leading to greater success. This is true in both one’s professional and personal life.