Step up to make your company more innovative

Staying on top of one's game when owning a business can be a challenging task. Sidnee Peck, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship gives a few pointers on how to stay razor sharp.

By Sidnee Peck

Director, Center for Entrepreneurship

Question: What are some things I can do to remain competitive and stay relevant?

Answer: If you read articles or blog posts from your favorite magazines, newspapers and websites, then you're likely to see news about how industries are changing or how a new technology or trend is impacting a market. The cycle of innovation certainly feels like it's been progressing at a much faster pace recently than in the past.

Large, global companies that owned significant market space often could hold on to a leadership position just by continuing to offer what they already did well. Now, that approach doesn't seem to cut it. Innovation is rapid and required.

Though innovation can seem intimidating and sometimes interpreted as needing some new, fancy technology, that's not always the case. An infinite number of ways to innovate for relatively low cost can be found, if you seek the right opportunities.

So, what can you do as a business owner?

• Empower your employees. Focus, in particular, on those workers who have touch points with your customers. You hired your people for a reason, and as they engage in the work they do, they will likely have new ideas and learn about new pain points from customers. Kitchell, a Phoenix-based builder/developer/program manager, is a company that has taken this to heart and started to grow new business lines because employees had new ideas, which proved to be very valuable.
• Engage in exploration into other markets and other industries for inspiration. It is easy to become absorbed in your direct industry and not take or make time to explore others because they seem unrelated. Think again. Learning from other industry models might help you find a new way of doing things that no one in your own space has identified yet.
• Try new things. I recently had the opportunity to hear well-known Arizona homebuilder, businessman and philanthropist Ira Fulton talk a little about success and what he tells his grandkids and great-grandkids about achieving it. He said you can make lots of mistakes but never the same one twice. If you're not making mistakes, then you're not trying anything new, and if you're not trying anything new, then you're certainly not being innovative.

It can feel like a challenge to keep up with new market entrants or competitors moving faster than you, but being diligent and taking risks can keep you relevant to your customers, and that's what matters. First published in The Arizona Republic, November 3, 2014.