Strategic Innovation
August 10, 2017
INNOVATION: KEY TO THE FUTURE
Stagnation can be the death of a company.
Besides growing and moving with the market, the company must have as part of its core competencies high ethics, exemplary morality, servant leadership, clear and comprehendible communication, accurate, legal and ethical accounting practices, a customer-centric focus, appreciate for diversity and inclusion – both nationally and internationally (Heath, 2009). According to Brian Mason, CEO of Program Design Solutions, “Companies should have in place policies and procedures that celebrate achievement, promote competence, reward success and discourages agency conflict. It is a healthy path to moving forward. That which does not grow does not evolve. That which does not evolve dooms itself to extinction.”
A brand is a promise of expectations to the customer. A company who knows who and what it is will act in a responsible manner that customers will appreciate and reward with its patronage (Stahl, Heitmann, Lehmann, & Neslin, 2012).
It is a global market and people have more choices today than ever in history. Businesses that don’t put their customers and associates first may see their revenue generators moving to the competition.
Employees are just as important as customers. Every day, millions of walking advertisements leave their places of employment at the end of the day and take their experiences, knowledge and behaviors of the company out into the communities where they live. Individuals are more likely to believe their own experiences over an advertisement and they are more willing to accept the opinion of a trusted family member or friend over a company produced advertisement.
A company must learn to control the conversation when the business is not in the room. Fear is the uncertainty of the unknown. Well-developed strategies and project plans with risk, change and communication management components reduces fear and the likelihood of weak implementations that may lead to failure, agency conflict and diminished returns.
INSIGHT
In the end, the company culture will reflect the degree and level to which leadership drives innovation down through the organization (Jordan, 2016) (Petry, Mujica, & Vickery, 1998).
Heath, J. (2009). The Uses and Abuses of Agency Theory. Business Ethics Quarterly, 19(4), 497-528. Cambridge, UK: Philosophy Documentation Center.
Jordan, D. (2016). Agency theory (organizational economics). Salem Press Encyclopedia. Hackensack, NJ: Salem Press.
Petry, E. S., Mujica, A. E., & Vickery, D. M. (1998). Sources and consequences of workplace pressure: increasing the risk of unethical and illegal business practices. Business & Society Review (00453609), (99), 25-30. Oxford, OX: Wiley-Blackwell.
Stahl, F., Heitmann, M., Lehmann, D. R., & Neslin, S. A. (2012). The Impact of brand equity on customer acquisition, retention, and profit margin. Journal of Marketing, 76(4), 44-63. Chicago IL: American Marketing Association. doi:10.1509/jm.10.0522.