Everyone loves to win. I have had the good fortune
to work with 60+ exceptional companies in the last ten years, including
30 where I worked hand-in-hand with the CEO or executive director. Here
are some of my key takeaways from the best initiatives I have been
associated with:
- Successful leaders know who to create positive
inflection points, dramatic and defining shifts in relation to the
market that move their offerings decisively forward - they capture
ground. They do it regularly, consistently, and systematically.
- In each of these decisive moves they aim for
one of four targets:
- Growing their base
- Getting a bigger buy, claiming more of their
customers' spend
- Improving loyalty
- Increasing market prominence.
- They carefully manage the three forces that can
bring down a company:
- Operational pressures - what it takes to keep
the doors open and put out inevitable fires
- Innovation stress - the forces that new ideas
bring to bear on business as usual
- Changing market forces - you know these can
turn on a dime or a headline
- Winning leaders work intentionally with three
components of their innovation foundation; i.e., the platform that
turns continuous improvement into market success:
- Leadership - they communicate their vision
clearly, engage others in robust discussions to develop ideas, surround
themselves with people who excel at their respective jobs, and spend
significant time building partnerships
- Talent management - they develop existing
staff, get rid of people who won't grow, and aggressively recruit
people who are capable of leading them into the future
- Idea management - they have clear, explicit
ways of identifying good ideas, growing them into exceptional efforts,
and moving them out into play where they are studied and modified for
increased success in the marketplace.
The best part about success is that it builds upon itself. Once you
begin to exhibit market gains you attract players and partnerships that
inject power into your best efforts. That is why success rules.
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In 2013
my next book, Getting
Innovation Right: How Leaders Create Inflection Points that Drive
Success in the Marketplace, will be released.
If you book conferences, contact me for a special deal in 2013 - I will
be offering copies of the book for
your audience. All arrangements to take place through my
representative, Tom
Neilssen, at BrightSightGroup.com.
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Come and visit me on my new Facebook page where in the last 2 1/2 weeks
I have attracted 5,000+
followers: facebook.com/GettingInnovationRight
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