When are you at your most innovative? Many independent business owners and entrepreneurs would answer, "Under pressure." (A reaction shared by property owners.) While coming up with a great idea or creative twist at the last minute is an essential talent in the vortex of change that represents today’s economy, it is not enough.

• Deliberately calling on innovative thinking and out-of-the-box perspectives must be standard practice when designing new products or services, or expanding into new markets and ventures.
• Remaining responsive and flexible for your clients and customers requires consistently and relevantly exceeding their expectations, so they reap the benefits of your innovation.
• Branding, which provides a communication compass to steer by, requires ongoing innovation to stay fresh, relevant, and memorable.
• Taking full advantage of location and of the unique benefits of your owned or leased space can also feed innovation.

Innovation is not limited to something 100 percent new. Some of the most clever innovations involve switching a product or service to a different context (Can you think of an example from your industry?), or turning a mistake into a winner á la Post-it Notes®. That is, innovation involves something new to you or to your target customers, not necessarily something brand new to everyone.

This fall Intuit Inc., of QuickBooks® fame, commissioned the Small Business Week national survey, "Does Innovation Need to be Disruptive to Make an Impact?," which revealed that 97% of business owners agree innovation is the key to success. The 508 owners surveyed by Angus Reid also believed that innovation does not require massive change or change for change sake to significantly improve the bottom line. Ninety-eight percent of business owners who made subtle changes to strategies, processes, practices, or technology experienced positive impact on their business.

The survey concluded the deciding factor for innovation was available time. Although only 53 percent of "do it all" sole proprietors made innovative changes, 90 percent of businesses in the 6 to 100 employee category applied improvements. Business owners in the first group reported their business slowed over the year, compared to the larger organizations which were "more likely to be growing and booming."

Reflecting on Innovation

Two pervasive myths in business dictate that:

#1 innovation is optional, and
#2 innovation is hard.

The accelerated information exchange driven by mobile computing and social media has made "keeping up" required standard practice and "keeping ahead" essential for business survival. Everyone’s watching when a business has a solid online presence. No one cares when an enterprise is disconnected from its client or customer base, online or off.

Although having more hands to share the workload may be one reason more innovation occurs, low numbers of employees or none at all cannot be an excuse for reduced resilience and improvement in any enterprise.

When an entrepreneur or owner genuinely understands the business from the customers’ perspective, obstacles between customers and what they expect from their buying experience become evident if the owner takes time to acknowledge them. Even more important, when the owner takes the time to ask customers where there is room for improvement, the owner must listen to their answers. Better signage, cleaner premises, different packaging, or faster followup can leave customers raving over improvements while an owner may be surprised that innovation was so easy.

This is the time of year for reflection and evaluation. What gift of reflection can you give yourself? Which evaluation of value, systems, or potential could be most valuable to your target clients?

Executive Coach Judi Walsh of ASK Corporate Services Inc. suggests those seeking out innovation can ask themselves: If I take time to reflect, will I be spending time or investing time?

Stressing the need for perspective, Walsh says: "Our busy lives are like climbing a steep hill, and we often don’t stop and look at where we have been, [where] we are, or where we are going. A few hours of reflection reveal much about the quality and meaning behind all the things that keep you busy….People who reflect find it an investment of time and have more confidence and agility to direct their lives and careers...Are you ready to invest time in you?"

PJ: All the best of the season to my innovative fans and friends.

Published: December 13, 2011

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

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Futurist and Strategist PJ Wade is "The Catalyst" - intent on "Challenging The Best to Become Even Better." PJ earned this title by translating the dynamic impact of Boomers and their multi-generation families into relevant insights that start people thinking and taking action—in business and in life. Author of 8 books and more than 1800 published articles, PJ encourages individuals to become their own futurist. PJ writes and speaks about the insight, knowledge and solid decision-making skills that professionals and their clients need to live and work in this vortex of change. For instance, since PJ knows that home is headquarters for the new decades-long "unretirement," she wrote the popular book "Reverse Mortgages: Best Friend, Worst Enemy...Your Choice!", which is filled with suggestions and cautions on protecting, building and managing home equity. Her new business book, "What's Your Point?: Cut The Crap, Hit The Mark & Stick!" will be published in 2012. As The Catalyst, PJ provides strategic communication, client appreciation and advanced education services to the financial, tourism, lifestyle and service sectors - and the clients they serve. A frequently-quoted financial and business commentator, PJ is a thought-provoking strategic speaker who offers practical, real-life suggestions on leaving "the box" behind and embracing Forward Thinking - a talent she regularly demonstrates in this column. For more on keynotes, blogs, books and information on a range of 21st-Century topics, visit TheCatalyst.com.

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