David got a call from his CEO. Having been to an innovation forum, she wants to introduce a programme of innovation. Where to start?

The company’s not short of good ideas. They have people visiting trade shows all the time. David goes to networking meetings at least once a fortnight and has even been to trend presentations himself.

So, why does David have a problem?

It’s not that he doesn’t believe the company can innovate. But which idea should he recommend they invest in?

The Sales Director isn’t that interested in innovation, until it turns into something that can sit in a sales plan. The CFO is reluctant to discuss innovation: it’s a term that means different things to different people and, after all, the budget is assigned for this year. The Marketing team is buried in trade marketing and can’t get involved.

This could go badly for David

David doesn’t want to be the one to make a silly suggestion. Board meetings are already busy and future investment can’t take priority with the way things are: the exchange rate; Brexit; technology racing away; new competitors disrupting trading agreements; the CRM update; the pressure on costs. If they take their eye off the ball, anything could happen.

David looks around and begins to see who is out there that might help. He comes across a company called room44 that publishes blogs every week about all kinds of interesting aspects of innovation. There are hundreds of articles on their website, and they seem well-established. Their client list is impressive too.

David finds trusted support

David calls them up and, suddenly, he feels as if he’s found someone who understands, not only the need for innovation, but also how to choose the best option, now.

Be like David

Call room44 now or click here to speak to Tristan and get onside with an ally.

Future thinking. Future-proofing. It’s what we do.

It’s easy, as a business owner, to believe that innovation isn’t your job. Invention, product development, competitiveness, even novelty – but probably not innovation.

In fact, everyone can innovate.

Step back and shake it off

To step back and shake off the pressure of everyday business can seem impossible. As a busy SME operator, you might find the suggestion ridiculous – until it’s not an option and becomes a necessity.

Like you, we spend a lot of time thinking about how we run a business, how it will grow, what we can do to make a step change and keep ahead of the market. Like you, we have issues of resource and cash flow.

We don’t know what we don’t know

We believe, unquestionably, that having a plan that extends to five years (and beyond), that envisages what we’ll look like then, that considers what will be happening in the market to influence what we do, is achievable.

Stepping out of our daily routine and working with somebody else to guide creative thinking works too. External help shines a light on what we don’t know we don’t know. Many times, there are some things we can change, and others we can’t, but why limit the thinking to the short term?

Intellectual investment pays back

Every intellectual investment you make in thinking with an innovative mindset will pay back immediately.

Innovation, per se, is a money shot. It takes time to settle on a great idea that your competition hasn’t had yet, and to get it to market first. But giving yourself regular time and space, so that innovation is even a possibility, is worth every minute.

Once you see things as they could be, not just as they are, the vista opens: the opportunity becomes clearer, the barriers lower and what was just an idea turns into a viable option. Or maybe you just have the idea in the first place.

Here’s an offer:

Let’s call or meet. I’ll ask you three questions and we’ll work out what will make the quickest return on your investment of time, so that you know if ‘innovation’ is what you’ll call whatever you decide to do next.

Before we talk I’ll send you our free guide to “Seeing it differently”.

Here’s the link.

Future thinking. Future-proofing. It’s what we do.