September 15, 2024

Hello, Peripheral Thinkers™!

Last month, I shared the Proactive Innovation principle. Innovation is again in this month’s edition. Why? The conversations I’ve had with you in the last 30 days compel me to share an accurate yet uncommon perspective on Business Innovation. It is uncommon because business innovation’s current, commonly accepted meaning and purpose are wrong.

Linear thinkers have worked their way into the nonlinear innovation space to standardize innovative processes.

To keep you in check. In the middle of the pack. Under control.

It is to let you believe that your iteration is somehow innovation while the rest of the sheep are doing the same thing.

Here’s the thing… If you are iterating, not innovating, you are not growing. And if you aren’t growing, you are not even maintaining your position. You and the rest of the pack are falling behind the leaders. Mediocrity is the best you can hope for. The worst case is ‘irrelevance.’

Let’s set the record straight by looking at today’s standard advice, what’s wrong with it, and what to do differently to reclaim BUSINESS INNOVATION for those who want to lead.

Peripheral Perspective – Business Innovation

You may know that I frequently comment on LinkedIn’s collaborative, AI-generated articles on #BusinessInnovation. More often than not, my comments differ substantially from the auto-generated content and other contributors.

Just because the word ‘Business’ precedes ‘Innovation’ should not change the meaning of innovation. Because innovation is used by businesses—which most innovations are—does not mean it must conform to standard, common, conventional business practices.

Imagine if building owners told Edison, Volta, Davy, and Swan, “That light bulb thing is fascinating, but can you make it with oil and a wick instead of electricity?”

Silly, right?

Well, let’s look at a LinkedIn Business Innovation article.

LINKEDIN’S‘ BUSINESS INNOVATION’ / OBSERVATIONS / ALT ACTIONS

While the collaborative articles are well-intentioned, without a broader set of experiences, the AI models feed off standard business practices to respond to AI-generated questions. Does this self-perpetuating loop remind you of anything in your business? Asking and answering a question from the same data set.

1. Do you ask questions in a way that supports your current processes or perspectives?

2. Do you shoehorn innovation into linear project management constraints?

3. Is Business Innovation a vital component of your business strategy?

As they sing on Sesame Street, “One of these things is not like the others. One of these things is not the same. Number 3 is different. If you answered ‘Yes’ to number 3, you must say ‘No’ to numbers 1 & 2. If you answered ‘Yes’ to 1 or 2, the only answer for number 3 is ‘No.’

LinkedIn Article Example:

Below is a recent #BusinessInnovation topic and LinkedIn’s 7 AI-generated responses.

“Here’s how you can adapt to changing business innovation trends with confidence.”

1 Embrace Change

2 Stay Informed

3 Leverage Technology

4 Build Flexibility

5 Foster Creativity

6 Collaborate Wisely

7 Here’s what else to consider

These titles seem appropriate, but let’s look deeper.

(Note: LinkedIn content is italicized.)

1) EMBRACE CHANGE

Embracing change is the first step towards adapting to new business innovation trends. Change can be daunting, but viewing it as an opportunity rather than a threat enables you to approach innovation with a positive mindset. Stay informed about industry developments, attend relevant workshops, and network with peers to exchange ideas. By accepting that change is inevitable, you can plan strategically and be ready to pivot when necessary.

Observations:

Embracing change is both common and limiting. It is common because change is inevitable. It is limiting because it implies you will ‘adapt’ to trends. You can adapt to the trends or create the trends that others adapt to.
Stay informed about industry trends and network with peers. Yes, this is standard operating procedure for any business. However, it does not, in itself, create business innovation. The last sentence proves it: “… and be ready to pivot when necessary.” To pivot is in response to something—reactive.

Alternative Action:

Acknowledge that change is inevitable. Collect trend information from multiple industries. Find insights that can be applied now in your industry to create change.

2) STAY INFORMED

Staying informed is critical in keeping pace with business innovation trends. Dedicate time to read industry publications, follow thought leaders on social media, and participate in professional forums. This continuous learning approach ensures that you’re up-to-date with the latest advancements and can discern which trends are most relevant to your business. Knowledge is power, and in the context of innovation, it’s the power to adapt swiftly and effectively.

Observations:

We can all agree that staying informed and continuously learning is vital to leading a relevant business. However, tracking business innovation trends through your industry’s publications, thought leaders, and professional forums is what your competition does. Where’s the differentiation?
Discerning your company’s business innovation strategy requires a broad set of experiences, not just being up-to-date on your industry’s latest advancements.
Knowledge is NOT power in business innovation. Business innovation is applied knowledge that propels your business and industry to achieve quantum improvement.

Alternative Actions:

Seek new perspectives from unique sources—different people, cultures, countries, industries. The perspectives don’t have to be “innovative trends.” They need to be new to you. New to you processes, solutions, initiatives, approaches, etc.
Define the elements that contribute to the success of this new _____________. Mix and match various elements until you have a unique insight that changes the playing field. Make others’ adapt’ to the field you create, not the other way around.

3) LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY

Leveraging technology is a key factor in adapting to business innovation trends. Evaluate new software, platforms, and tools that can streamline operations, enhance productivity, or open up new channels for customer engagement. Don’t hesitate to experiment with emerging technologies that could give you a competitive advantage. Remember, the goal is to use technology as a catalyst for innovation, not just for the sake of adopting new gadgets.

Observations:

This set of suggestions fits well with the accurate definition of business innovation, with one exception—the call to evaluate ‘new’ technologies. It works if the technology is new to your business and industry but established elsewhere. Technology that’s new to every industry is not the prerequisite to innovation; how it’s used is.
Remember, our goal is not to adapt to business innovation trends but to create them.
Experimentation is an essential trait for business innovators. Don’t limit your experimentation to emerging technologies only.

Alternative Action:

Leverage new-to-you technology, approaches, methods, and solutions as catalysts for your business innovation. There are proven methods from Manufacturing’s Material Resources Planning (MRP) from the 1950s and 1960s that are being applied today in healthcare, home building, and hospitality. New technology? No. Innovative for these industries? Yes!

4) BUILD FLEXIBILITY

Building flexibility into your business model allows for easier adaptation to changing trends. This might involve developing adaptable policies, encouraging a culture that supports experimentation, or investing in scalable infrastructure. Flexibility means being able to adjust your strategies quickly in response to market demands, technological advancements, or competitive pressures. A flexible business is a resilient one.

Observations:

A flexible business is generally favorable. However, flexible policies, infrastructure, and culture—built to adjust to external influences—are still reactive. Yes, you may adjust faster than your competitors, but you are still playing catch-up.
Flexibility, as it relates to business innovation, does NOT mean being able to adjust your strategies quickly in response to [fill in the blank]. Business Innovation’s flexibility means strategies that create market demand, technical advancements, and pressure for competitors.
A flexible business that adapts to trends is weaker than an innovative business that creates trends.

Alternative Action:

The most potent business trait, the skill that drives innovation, is identifying a future need and quickly filling the need with existing yet innovative solutions. Innovative businesses flexibly combine seemingly unrelated input to deliver transformational change for their clients and the industry.

5) FOSTER CREATIVITY

Fostering creativity within your team is essential for innovation. Encourage employees to think outside the box and reward initiative and creative problem-solving. Create an environment where new ideas are welcomed and considered. This culture of creativity will not only generate innovative solutions but also empower your team to confidently embrace and drive change.

Observations:

Even conventional businesses will profess their belief in outside-the-box, creative problem-solving… as long as it works. Failure is tolerated briefly before implementing a linear, project-management approach to innovation. This controlled approach, clothed in innovative clothing, says, “Be creative … as long as you follow these steps.” Come on, Man!
For more than four decades, I’ve worked with organizations worldwide that profess: “New ideas are always welcome and considered.” Their staunch position lasts about 30 minutes. Once I recommend an approach from my friend Ivan, who owns bakeries in Bulgaria, or Raya, who manages movie theaters in Malaysia, these “creative companies” hit the brakes—hard!
A culture of creativity is instilled and reinforced daily, starting with the actions of the company’s leaders. There will be no innovative culture until the leadership publicly thinks outside the box, applies creative problem-solving, and demonstrates acceptance of failures.

Alternative Action:

Encourage your team to bring their whole selves to work, to bring all of their experiences, and to contribute their lessons learned—lessons from anywhere except their current job, industry, or profession. No peripheral lesson is irrelevant. Every idea is respected. Every voice is heard. Leadership must lead the way by consistently contributing and soliciting lessons. When your organization becomes comfortable sharing more of what they see, hear, experience, and learn, you have the beginning of a creative culture.

Rant Warning!

I have one pet peeve about the phrase ‘outside the box thinking.’ It is meant to describe nonlinear, unobstructed thinking. However, the phrase has an unintended constraint… the BOX! You think outside the box, but the box is still there as a point of reference. And when you find something innovative, where do you take it? Back to the box. Rather than thinking outside the box, business innovators “THINK & DO!” There is no box. [end of rant]

6) COLLABORATE WISELY

Collaboration can accelerate your adaptation to business innovation trends. Partner with other companies, join industry consortiums, or work with consultants who specialize in innovation strategy. These collaborations can provide fresh perspectives, share risks associated with trying new approaches, and multiply the resources available for research and development efforts. Choose your collaborators wisely to ensure they align with your vision and values.

Observations:

We can all agree that collaboration is one way to accelerate the collection of alternative approaches. The rest of #6’s recommendations do not align with business innovation.
Spend limited time collaborating with other companies or consortiums from your industry. Statistically, you have a low probability of collecting innovative insights. And if you gain ‘fresh perspectives’ from these resources, they will be more iterative than innovative.
If you engage a consultant, be sure they are not from your industry and don’t have a linear innovation strategy. The consultant’s value is in their ability to teach you the skills and mindset to find and apply new perspectives from innovative businesses.

Alternative Action:

Seek the unconventional. Unconventional sources, people, companies… Don’t worry about the source aligning with your vision and values. You aren’t looking for a love connection. You need new perspectives. When you break down the perspectives into principles, you can begin massaging them to align with your vision and values—assuming you have an innovative vision and values.

Recently, I spoke at an annual industry conference. When I asked which of the attendees represented the industry’s leading companies, the event staff said, “They don’t attend. The leading companies meet separately every six months.” I pressed further, asking who speaks at those meetings. “They have speakers from all over.”

Hmm… The leading companies get input from outside… Go figure.

7 HERE’S WHAT ELSE TO CONSIDER

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

Thank goodness for #7. Many of my responses over the last year are in #7. And… the ‘what else to consider’ section in the Business Innovation articles is no longer available. I guess I broke it…

I suspect that you know where I added my contribution to this article. Yep. #7.

My Response:

This LinkedIn AI-generated article suggests that to adapt confidently to changing business innovation trends; you must embrace change, stay informed, leverage technology, build flexibility, foster creativity, and collaborate wisely. And??? Is that the best you can do? Business innovation is NOT a six-step prescription. It involves a broad set of business and life experiences, a passion for examining unique perspectives, and insights into connecting seemingly unrelated principles, ideas, and approaches.

Business Innovators:

- Create change

- Do the informing

- Design technology

- Use cognitive flexibility

- Share creatively

- Collaborate openly

Break the rules! Be the #BusinessInnovation.

Show Me The Proof

As I mentioned, conversations with some of you during the last 30+ days encouraged me to share the peripheral perspective of business innovation with the newsletter community. During our conversations, you also had a common statement and question. It went something like this:

“I hadn’t thought of ‘business innovation’ like this before. It’s an interesting theory... But ... do you have personal examples with measurable results?”

So, dear reader, here are a few of the companies and results of business innovation I led in companies and clients:

A managed healthcare company repurposed latent resources to enter a new market – increasing ARR by $1.2B.
A SaaS company applied the sales method from another industry, increasing ARR from $50M to $170M in 18 months.
A global manufacturer leveraged their supply chain, creating a $200M uplift in market valuation.
A SaaS provider increased ARR 3X by rebadging their solutions for new markets.

Business Innovation is neither complex nor linear. Beware of iteration and business process improvement clothed as innovation.

Now What?

When you read something that quickly resonates with your experience… Stop. Drop. Look at it from a different perspective. Business Innovation, new perspectives, and Peripheral Thinking™ skills should cause you to pause and question what resonates and why.

Now that you understand business innovation better, it’s time to implement it.

Start by reviewing this newsletter and highlight at least one insight you can apply to propel your business in the next 90 to 180 days.

I’d love to hear what you learned, what you plan to do next, and what you disagree with. Remember… I’m here to help.

Until next time… I’ll be looking for you in the periphery!

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September 2024 Peripheral Thinkers™ Newsletter

Peripheral Perspective – Business Innovation