Innovation is not an option in business today. To thrive in an ever-changing world, it must be a philosophy of your company. Learn how you can introduce and drive a culture of innovation in your trade business...every day!
2. What is Innovation?
Asking a simple question…
How do I serve my customer
‘even better’
than I did yesterday?
3. On the Agenda…
How to…
• Think differently about your business
• Understand how to prepare yourself to thrive in the future
• Avoid the biggest barriers to innovation
• Implement a philosophy of constant improvement
• Discover how simple and fun innovation really can be
Link to slides – slideshare.net/tradeinsights
5. Who is in the room?
Rectangle - Intelligent, strong decision makers, proactive
Triangle - lateral thinkers, prepared to look at all sides
Squiggle - Creative, strong imagination, leaders of people
Circle - Totally pre-occupied with sex and booze
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8. Something to think about…
If it’s not working for you…
it’s not working for the client!
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10. What is it costing you?
• Being the same – in the ‘sea of sameness’
• Stagnant – Smell
• Business becomes redundant
22. How to Innovate..
1. Become your customer
2. Become your customers customer
3. Solve their biggest problems
4. Help the customer BE a great customer
5. Help them look good
24. Understand…
1. Greed
2. Lazy
3. Impatience
4. Vanity
Give more than you promise
Make it easy for them
Make it happen quickly
Make them feel good in the
process.
25. Ingredients
• Leadership
• Trust
• Constructive conflict
• Be ok with failing/mistakes – its all part of
success
• Stretch the comfort zone
• Challenge the status quo
• Commitment to KAIZEN
• Keep it simple
26. How to
Create the space – schedule it – re create
Challenge the status quo
Zero based thinking
Think BIG - it really is FUN!
Let people think you are crazy
Be around like thinkers
Future pace
Study other industries
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36. When it goes wrong…
Focus is on cost savings or making money
alone
Too complex
Think that technology is the answer
The market is not ready
37. Small Examples
• Offer extra services
• Maintenance check
• Payment options
• Reminders
• Thank you gifts
• Offshore/outsource - efficiency
38. Questions to consider
If you could only work on one project for a year to transform
the business, what would it be and why?
What suffers more breakdowns: our products, our
processes, or our people? How could we fix this?
It’s 2025 and we’re the best company to work for in the
world: What two things did we do to earn this award?
39. Questions to consider
Which parts of your processes would you like to kill or
eliminate?
What would our dream testimonial from a customer say?
What can we offer for free that no one else does?
What is the shortest path to the customer? How could we get
there in ½ the time
40. Thinking…
Perhaps the way to meet tomorrow’s challenges is
not to use yesterdays thinking, but to dare to think
the previously unthinkable, to speak the previously
unspeakable, and to try that which was previously
out of the question.
