To survive in today’s hyper-competitive world, your company must stay on top of constantly changing markets, technologies, and socioeconomic factors. To be profitable, you must continually enhance and/or add offerings while controlling costs. To grow, however, you must go further – you need a forward-looking strategy and the infrastructure to execute it. You must focus on the top line as well as the bottom line. The question is how to do this well.
The challenge is often a tug of war between survival and growth – with Marketing and R&D on the front line. Pressure to meet short term profit goals and shareholder expectations frequently overrides the long-range plan.
Six Key Success Factors
To help you resolve the often-competing demands, Innovationedge has identified six key success factors:
- Leadership – communicate the strategic vision in an inspirational and motivational way; stand behind this vision in your day-to-day actions.
- Pipeline and Portfolio Management – choose the best current and future opportunities to pursue, be sure to allow several years for truly breakthrough ideas to become viable.
- Three Horizon Framework — ensure balanced resources across core, adjacent, and breakthrough business activities.
- Funding– invest in the future continuously and sustainably.
- Metrics –measure performance of each horizon appropriately. Focus on the vital few; encourage experimentation.
- Teams and Talent – assign the right people, support and recognize their contribution to your organization’s ‘total’ innovation.
For more detail on each of the long-term success factors and how to implement them, we invite you to read our newest IE Insider Report, Balancing Short Term Profits with Long Term Growth. Request your copy here.
I’m also glad to talk with you any time about your specific challenges or questions — just send us an email or give me a call at 920-967-0470.