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I recently spoke at the Talk Performance conference at Lords Cricket Ground in London. Naturally, with the economic climate the way it is around the world, this was a good conference for people to attend in order to take time out and really focus on their performance in this changing world.
One of the points I made to the delegates was in reference to a quote that I had read in the Harvard Business Review recently. One of the professors who writes for the Journal stated that, according to academics who studied the Great Depression, it is a fact that the organizations that invested in innovation during this period actually emerged stronger. This is quite contrary to the thinking that is going into most organizations or brands right now. Most companies at the moment are cutting back on innovation, creativity and reducing opportunities for their team to stop, think, ponder and challenge how things are done. The focus right now is cost cutting, people cutting and managing the numbers.
My comment was reiterated by Professor Nigel Nicholson, who spoke after me at Lords. Professor Nicholson is the Professor of Organizational Behavior at London's Business School and he said that innovation and change must happen at all levels. This fitted beautifully with the set-up that I had given to the room only moments earlier. Innovation and change must happen at all levels of the business, including the strategic plan, the people, the operational fundamentals, as well as around branding and numbers.
Innovation need not just be about products or services. Instead it is imperative that we think differently about every aspect of our business. The companies that do this will without a doubt emerge from this period stronger. |
