BACK TO THE BASICS … AND BLUE-SKY INNOVATION
Innovation is obviously critical to any organisation. But when performance slumps, it’s often because the basics have been forgotten – not because there’s a shortage of brilliant new ideas.
If you don’t believe this, just take a look around your own business. Are you calling on the right customers—and calling often enough? Is your “difference” clear, and does it matter to them? Do all your people understand it, and live it? Do they respond fast and well to customer enquiries? Do they return calls? How much inventory do you have lying around? Are your premises clean and tidy? Are your business partners working with you, or letting you down and tarnishing your reputation?
Customers expect your products and services to work as promised. Just give them that, and you probably have a huge edge over your competitors. And the better you get at your basics, the happier your customers are and the more you drive down your costs of selling, production, delivery, and support. So the benefit of just doing what you say you’ll do zips right to the bottom line!
At the same time, though, you need to keep rethinking everything you do, and the way you do everything. What new value can you offer? How else can you provide it? Who else can you satisfy?
Effective strategic conversation strikes a smart balance between getting the basics right and inspiring blue-sky thinking. It balances implementation and innovation to build powerful brands and capture maximum profits today and tomorrow.
I help organisations deal with this tension by pushing and cajoling them, testing their assumptions, and taking them out of their comfort zones. I get them to focus on their real priorities and make the changes that will lift their performance to new heights.
If you’d like to explore new possibilities for your business, call me now. Let’s make sure your basics are under control … and that disciplined blue-sky thinking is a way of life in your company.