Innovation is the key word for Competitive
If innovation is part of the old commandment of certain segments of the economy , now reaches new heights . It takes innovation in everything we do business , always focusing on customer needs.
Unsurprisingly , to occupy a prominent place in the market , it is important to be competitive . This means : to have price, quality and productivity. Most companies has acted in each of these fronts in a long time . But , given the new challenges that are magnified globally , the watchword now is innovation. If innovation is part of the old commandment of certain segments of the economy , such as technology , for example, now reaches new heights . It is necessary to innovate products, services , production processes , logistics and even management methods . In other words , everything that makes the company , always focusing on customer needs and process business value ( core business processes ).
There are two types of innovation : radical and incremental . The first deals with the development of products , services or processes that lead to significant changes to existing practices . Generally , modifies the existing business model . The second type relates to continuous improvements in products or processes . Generally represent small improvements in benefits and fail to significantly modify the product is consumed.
It is clear that radical innovations are imposed on incremental innovations , but give value to both – since, while the radical cause great impact, incremental are faster and occur in greater volume , promoting small changes and adjustments in products and processes . In both cases, however, it is important to draw attention to five care should be taken when starting a program of innovation:
1. Ensure that executives and top leaders are articulated with the program;
2 . Identify products and key processes for the business;
3 . Develop deployment strategy and long-term goals for the initiative . Preferably , the strategy and objectives must be developed by a joint committee of high-level organization;
4 . Report exhaustively the initiative to ‘ whole ‘ organization;
5 . Having a minimal structure to support the initiative.
For the innovation process does not become a program of suggestions that overload the organization – not exactly lead to tangible results – it is important that it be conducted by cross-functional teams focused on the main objectives. The first step is to map the core business processes ( core business processes ) , measuring the performance (output ) to meet its efficiency . Without this it is impossible to classify and quantify the improvements from the innovations . Another important step is to ensure the stability of processes, taking into account that the way activities are performed should be standardized – otherwise , data or information obtained from these processes are not well used in new initiatives , requiring rework.
With respect to organizational culture before kick off the program is essential to ensure that the company has an internal culture that values creativity and new ideas . It is up to managers to check if the organization encourages communication and exchange of knowledge.
As the development of innovations usually occur through projects , it is important to ensure subsidies for good management – since the main function of the project is to organize activities that will transform innovative ideas into reality . Have complete mastery of techniques of project management, therefore, is fundamental to any process of change.
Finally , it is necessary to establish ways to measure the impact of innovation in the company . Managers must be able to establish key performance indicators for initiatives within the company , influencing price, quality , productivity and competitiveness.