Before I dig into “What Is the True Goal of Innovation”, let me answer a question I have been receiving all the time.
Many of you have asked, when is my next book due out?
So, I have some exciting news, my 4th book, which is titled Work Less, Make More and Have Fun in Your Business will be released in January 2022.
The book details our business growth and scaling methodology, the Structure of Success™, we have used with over 1,200 businesses, both large and small, during the past 21 years.
The Structure of Success™ methodology is used to dramatically and easily grow and scale existing companies, as well as start new ones.
Innovation Is A Means to An End
But how does the topic of this newsletter, innovation, relate to the Structure of Success™?
They are tied together because innovation is solely a means to an end.
In other words, the use of innovation is a strategy that can be used for growing and scaling a business or organization, or a defensive tool to protect you from your competition.
Therefore, for the remainder of 2021 I will examine various foundational Structure of Success™ concepts from Work Less, Make More and Have Fun in Your Business and how they relate to strategically innovating your company.
We will start with Vision.
What Are You Trying to Accomplish?
The key question to ask with regards to applying innovation to your entity is, “What are you trying to accomplish?”
A word that describes “What are you trying to accomplish?” in your business is Vision – what is the Vision you have for your business or organization?
For instance, one of our clients is The Mediterranean Dish (who has the most visited English language Mediterranean Food website in the world), and a portion of their Vision is:
“We provide resources that enable an average person to conveniently prepare bold, new, exciting, and nutritious Mediterranean food at home.”
Among other things, they are using their Vision to guide them in applying innovation by identifying the goals of various types of visitors to their website and then providing a tailored experience.
In this way they are using innovation to accomplish their Vision.
How does a company build their innovation effort on the Vision for their business?
Your Vision Should Be Powerful
The first step is to identify and solidify your Vision.
The definition we use for Vision is – the desired or intended future state of a specific organization or enterprise in terms of its fundamental objective and/or strategic direction.
Each of us grew up in a particular neighborhood and while most of us no longer live in those same neighborhoods, in a split second we can remember in detail the sights, sounds, smells, and memories of our childhood neighborhood.
Recalling these can transform your emotional state in a moment or cause you to recollect something you have not thought about in a long time.
The Vision for your business should be every bit as powerful as your childhood memories. It should affect your emotional state in a moment. It should transport you into the future where you can envision what your company will look like.
There are two related concepts which are unbelievably powerful and motivating:
- Where is your business going?
- What will it look like when it gets there?
Studies have shown the human mind is much better at moving toward something rather than moving away from something.
For instance, if I say to you, “Think about a beautiful beach with soft white sand, gently lapping waves, and palm trees swaying in the breeze,” that is what you are going to think about.
It is the same way with your company—the first step in having the business of your dreams is to state very clearly and in detail what that dream looks like. What does a successful and thriving business look like to you?
Results of Having A Compelling Vision
The objective is to have a compelling Vision for your company, not just a “check it off” your to-do list type of Vision. These are two of the results of having a compelling Vision:
- It becomes the North Star for your business
- It provides the “fire in your belly” that motivates you each day
Let us look at each of these more closely.
Your Compelling Vision Becomes Your North Star
For thousands of years people have navigated by the North Star—a beacon guiding them to their destination.
Your Vision is the North Star for your company. No matter what gets thrown at you on a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly basis, you have a guide to help you navigate in this world. Your Vision will lead you to your intended destination by acting as a compass to assist you with decisions, issues, and problems.
Your Compelling Vision Becomes the “Fire in Your Belly” that Motivates You Each Day
Company leaders regularly run up against “gale force winds” as they try to move their business forward. Each issue, time pressure, deadline, decision, challenge, problem, disappointment, or derailment may seem like a gale force wind blowing directly in your face.
This wind might keep you from doing virtually anything at all or conversely it might challenge you to summon your drive and determination to deal with the issue du jour. Having a compelling Vision is key to finding that fire in your belly which yields that drive and determination to overcome those challenges.
Where to Start
Begin by examining your company and determine where you would like your business to be at 1, 3, 5, and 10 years down the road. Then solidify those thoughts into a compelling, appealing Vision statement for your enterprise.
Be sure to establish a Vision that is so powerful it becomes the North Star for your business and provides the “fire in your belly” that motivates you and your personnel each day.
Once you know where you want to take your company, then regularly share that Vision with your staff so you and they can think of innovative ways to accomplish the Vision for your enterprise.
If you could use assistance with creating a compelling Vision that will serve as the foundation of your innovation efforts, please contact us using the information below so we can be a resource to you in this critical area.
Fountainhead Consulting Group, Inc. is an Innovation and Business Planning firm. During the past 17, years we have shown over 1,200 companies how to achieve their goals by using our unique, comprehensive, and systematic FastTrak Innovation Program™, Innovation Academy™, and Structure of Success™ methodologies. Using the components in these methodologies, each month we examine an aspect of how to transform your business or organization into a true 21st Century enterprise.
Office: (770) 642-4220
www.FountainheadConsultingGroup.com
George.Horrigan@FountainheadConsultingGroup.com
Tags: entrepreneur, front end of innovation, innovation, invention, small business consulting, small business planning, start a business
