The way we can develop its leadership is through the following cycle: Ideas produce Innovation if they are well cultivated, Innovation brings Leadership, and Leadership allows to set the trend and to collect more Ideas.
Innovation capacity and leadership go together. The leader has the best capacity to influence the markets.
The management know-how is the main drive for the right completion of the cycle.
The Leadership Engine
The way we can develop its leadership is through the following cycle: Ideas produce Innovation if they are well cultivated, Innovation brings Leadership, and Leadership allows to set the trend and to collect more Ideas.
Innovation capacity and leadership go together. The leader has the best capacity to influence the markets.
The management know-how is the main drive for the right completion of the cycle.
The Iceberg of Innovation
When talking about innovation, the common idea is to imagine the breakthrough innovation, drastically impacting the market and leading to diversification.
But the most valuable innovations are not allways the most visible. They mainly consist in elaborating new products, solutions or services to existing clients, or in proposing existing products, solutions or services to new clients.
The Customer’s Shoes
You have to put yourself in the other’s shoes, follow his path, expose yourself. That is empathy: the ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in his situation.
Listening to the customers is mandatory but not enough: they seldom express their needs directly.
Solution Seeking Problem
Having a bulb without a socket, or without the appropriate socket is of no use.
A problem usually calls for a solution. But be aware of the tendency to force a solution without checking that there actually is a problem:
check that the solution is adequate
always re-assess the customer’s needs
Camel or Dromedary?
If you face the camel, you cannot know if it has one or two humps. You need to go around it to find out: camel or dromedary?
When observing a situation, it is the same: take time, walk around, don’t stick to your first impression, re-assess your judgment.
The Right Time
The target and the clock merge: like when launching a rocket, you have to choose the right time window.
Too early would be wasting the idea, not being in the position to make it a success, and giving it to a potential competitor. And too late…
An innovation is an idea that meets a market.
The Friendly Innovation
Very few people, the so-called “early adopters”, like and buy innovation. The majority simply seeks new ways to address existing needs. Innovation could require a change in habits, that usually disturbs people.
To be better accepted, the innovation should always refer to the existing, and secure people through a friendly aspect.
“As soon as something old is shown in something new, we feel at ease” Friedrich Nietzsche.
The No-Men
As soon as new ideas are suggested, you usually have to face attacks from No-Men, crying out:
“we already tried that 5 years ago…”
“the boss will not accept it…”
“where I come from, we don’t do it like that…”
etc.
Be careful, there could be a No-Man hiding within yourself!
