Four keys for soaring past your competition

by James Feldman

The new motto of innovative organizations should be "catch me if you can." Confronted with a constantly shifting array of customers, competitors and increased market volatility, the only hope for survival lies in the ability to change as rapidly as your competitive environment. It is time to think and act beyond the bounds of conventional wisdom.

However, a business plan that is defensive, designed merely to keep up with the competition, is not good enough. The strong emotions that feed our competitive spirit should be used to promote innovation. We must lead with our minds and follow with our hearts. Ideas are the spark that ignites the fire of creative innovation, and innovation is a business leader’s best offensive weapon.

When you get right down to it, only four viable strategies for coping with this accelerated pace of change exist: continuous change and improvement, innovative thinking, creative marketing and speed of implementation. Here’s how to do that.

Continually change and improve
Most people find change, particularly rapid and unpredictable change, frightening and upsetting. But turbulence and change are not going away. Change happens and there is nothing your company can do to stop it – nor should they. In change there is inherent opportunity just waiting to be discovered by those who are quick enough and bold enough to take advantage of it. It is time to readjust your thinking to understand that you should be causing change, not reacting to it.

Your best chance to succeed is to be the one who is driving most of the changes. Of course, not everyone gets to be the leader. So it is incumbent on the rest of us to do the next best thing, namely develop super-fast reflexes that can respond quickly. There is simply no alternative if you want to stay competitive.

While we can’t slow the pace of change, we can use many strategies to speed up our own corporate processes. The only effective response to rapidly changing conditions is to develop the capacity to move at ultra-high speed – in other words, increase your operating velocity. While no one can realistically expect to move as rapidly as the constantly changing environment around us, those who can come closest will be best positioned to survive.

Think innovatively
Opportunities will be waiting for you in today’s business world if you can overcome resistance to new ways of thinking. What stops most companies from innovation is hesitation due to uncertainty. But when you cast aside uncertainty and start to ask “what if,” you will unleash the unlimited possibilities of innovative problem solving that result in new profits for your organization.

As you search for innovative solutions to your business challenges, consider the following:
• Have I defined the problem accurately?
• Does my thinking recognize its imperfections and liabilities?
• Have I substituted assumptions for facts?
• What are the weaknesses of this solution?
• Is the solution intellectually honest?
• Am I applying the same standards to myself as I demand from others?
• Is this something others can use?
• What would happen if our competition came up with this first?

The key is to recognize the competitive power of speed and to turn the pursuit of innovation into a central organizing principle in your company and career.

Market creatively
One essential practice to integrate into your business strategy is superior client communication. You can strengthen your client relationships by introducing your business innovations without technical jargon. We all have seen new products introduced with a fanfare of technical terms so complex that companies may as well be speaking a foreign language to their customers. You can avoid this mistake by talking to your customer in terms they can easily understand. They will be grateful for your ability to communicate clearly, and you will be giving them intelligible information they can relay to others in their organization.

When giving a presentation to a client, you may be tempted to spend time telling them how good your new product is, but this is a waste of time. Instead, tell them how much better they will be when they use it. Every communication should demonstrate the benefit to the client, not congratulate the seller. Use words like “you” and “your” more than “we” and “our” to keep their interest and keep the emphasis on them.

Make sure your client has a Call-to-Action list. This list shows them step-by-step what needs to be done to requisition your product. If prospects don’t know when or how they are supposed to buy from you, they simply will not try to buy.

Remember, innovation is how we make money from creativity, but your product can’t be recognized as innovative if no one buys it. Benjamin Franklin may have discovered electricity, but it is the person who invented the electric meter that is making all the money.

To convince your customer, leverage the power of the new information technologies by delivering your materials into the right hands at the right time. Web sites and e-mail are wonderful communication tools, but it is essential that they are easy to access or download. Try to select a domain name that is easy to remember and easy to associate with your company name.

Implement swiftly
Just as action ultimately accomplishes far more than pure analysis, speed will beat perfection every time in today’s business environment. Because failure is intricately interwoven with success, you must create a safety zone in which everyone understands that failures will not curtail attempts to succeed. Learn from your failures and then quickly overcome them.

You’re far better off being 80 percent right and first to market than 100 percent right and six months late. Implement now and perfect later. Try something, test it, learn from it and try it again quickly. As an example, Bic Pen often introduced products while it biggest competitor, Gillette, was still field-testing. The result was that Bic owned the disposable razor market first, as well as the inexpensive ballpoint pen market, while their competition refined product features.

Let’s be perfectly clear about what’s at stake here. For those who really can do things faster than their competitors, the rewards may be extraordinary, including:
• ownership of the de facto industry standards;
• lasting position on the leading edge of innovation by incorporating technological advances;
• rapid responses to market opportunities;
• opportunity to claim premium prices;
• attractive and strategic distribution channels;
• higher staff morale and commitment;
• off-balance competitors, bewildered and put on the defensive by your constant, quick-paced innovations.

The future is now
To survive and compete in the new business environment, you will have to create and maintain a business model that recognizes the supreme importance of urgency and speed. You must learn to anticipate your customers' future needs, which will be fueled by a new type of demand that is constantly changing.

Make speed and urgency core values by placing them at the center of your action plan. By doing so, you will be well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities the future will surely provide

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