If you could do only one thing in your business this year, what would it be? Every day we see that businesses are struggling to follow long term strategies, confronted with everything from political pressures to disruptive technologies.
It could be time to don the hard hats, hunker down and find the best app to amuse you - the Nero approach to business planning. Tempting as this may be, it's probably not going to give you long term satisfaction - and who knows how long the next storm is going to last. And although agile is the new watchword, it doesn't mean short-termism should rule. Be agile, but think of your long term goals.
Instead we thought we'd keep it simple and keep it positive - quick tips to business leaders to make this year a year of growth.
Innovation - innovative businesses are going to win big. There is a large increase in businesses introducing innovation labs. Looking at how to embrace new technologies rather than fear them. And also accepting that not every innovation is going to work. It's about taking on this mindset, putting together systematic ways that mean that if change is inevitable, it's this company that will be on the front foot.
Creativity - it's no longer just the domain of the marketing teams, but needs to be business wide. Smart companies are encouraging every employee to think creatively, and this 'freedom' delivers results with more engaged teams, more enterprising approaches and greater ownership. Both innovation and creativity show a courage to move away from the status quo. And as we all know, he who dares, wins.
Optimization - streamlining business, making everything efficient and building on the trend to embrace agile in all functions. How much of your business, from process to people, could be described as optimized? This is the net result from refusing to be drawn into a defensive position and looking to grow. If you're going to grow, you need to make everything work better - from people to processes and everything in between.
Focus - everything works better when you make focus your mantra. Nothing will happen if the best intentions become distractions rather than focal points. Your business is your focus - and at every point you should be asking if what you're doing is leading to growth. It's too easy to look at too many things and take activity as progress. Advice we pass on to our colleagues and reports, and then often forget ourselves.
However you choose to mix up your business, use these as your monitoring words.
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