Why we cannot afford to relegate innovation to the backseat

It is an undeniable fact that businesses had never waited for 'innovation' to emerge as a quintessential buzzword for them to really start practicing 'innovation'. 

In fact, the word only took prominence amid the crude observations of businesses that were constantly reshaping themselves to weather the storms that rocked their way ahead. 

Nevertheless, what is true is that the approach to innovation has surely taken a novel dimension. Actually, businesses have extended their notion of innovation from merely constantly uplifting the quality of their products to now giving a strong focus on revving up their routine practices through which they deliver their final products and services to end customers. 

Thus, it would be wrong to say that the focus on innovation has shifted, rather it has enlarged to take both the product and practices on board. 

But what is more interesting is that innovation has seemingly now hit like a bug as businesses find themselves caught in an innovation spiral, from which they cannot dare to come out. The game is an endless journey where the entrepreneur has no choice than to constantly innovate not only his product but also his ways of doing business. 

According to management expert, Peter Drucker, “if an established organisation, which in this age necessitating innovation, is not able to innovate, it faces decline and extinction.” Keeping this in mind, organizations are now taking measures to boost up their ability to innovate. 

On the other hand, a particular study found that almost 90% of businesses around the world believe that innovation is a priority. It has also emerged as a major factor in influencing strategic planning and leads to wealth creation. 

Let’s check out four main reasons why innovation cannot be taken for granted: 

1. Competition: Increasing competition among businesses vying in the same market means that we need to distinguish our product in such a way that demarks it from the rest in the market. And for this to happen, we naturally have to innovate our product.
   
   
2. Globalisation: An increasingly globalized market environment implies that businesses are not vying only with their local counterparts but with businesses in the regional and international arena as well. With markets now more open, needless to say that our local products are compared with foreign ones. So the benchmark being really high now means that we have to turn on the innovation button as more often as possible.
   
   
3. Consumer expectations: With more communication in markets, needless to say consumers now keep themselves abreast about every single move. They can compare, criticize, appreciate, make suggestions or completely even discard the product or service. Moreover, consumers are increasingly savvy about technology, which makes them expect more in terms of experience and quality.
4. Technology: Once again, technology is one crucial element that has prompted the massive wave of innovation. Technology is being used in different ways, be it at the moment of production or point of consumption. An example is the insurance industry where paper-works are now ceding their place to online platforms and where the consumer chooses his desired scheme, navigates through some clicks, confirms his payment through an online channel and within the next few minutes, his contract is delivered.

In a nutshell, we all have to agree that innovation is not an end in itself. Rather it is a journey in which we have to continuously keep improving to be at par with the latest development in the market, and most importantly to survive, as goes the saying by Albert Einstein: “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”