Global Research Points to Reasons for Individual Business Performance

Global research using over 100 years of data and published progressively from 1997 to 2017 (Kim & Mauborgne, Harvard Business Press), and two recent independent Australian reports, all point to the reasons for the stark difference in individual business performance.

The Source of Perpetual Growth

The research explains how some businesses deal with rapid industry change and drive growth, while others slip behind, become unviable and get disrupted.

The lesson is that divining what will drive growth in your industry and your business shouldn’t be based on guesswork, a lucky dip, or crystal ball gazing.  Predictions can be way off the mark and miss what, in hindsight, seems obvious.

The research indicated that the solution is not in the economic cycle, location, industry, organisation size, resources or charismatic leadership.  What sets the growth organisations apart is the logic they use when devising their next strategic move.  And they work consistently (not necessarily feverishly) to challenge long held industry assumptions that limit growth.  To do this they follow a structured programme to deliver innovative strategic thinking and new industry logic without the guesswork.

Fast Growth Businesses Foster Diversity and Inclusion

These businesses don’t rely on simply competing harder.  They push themselves to compete smarter, differently and creatively.  That takes effort in areas which many businesses still don’t fully understand or adopt.  

Creativity, total freedom of thought and openness to new ideas is what drives innovation.  Not just engagement with a diverse group of employees, customers and key stakeholders, but inclusion.  

Diversity ensures a representative mix of people, but inclusion ensures that they gain the benefits of working together.

Engagement and diversity without inclusion still leads to groupthink.  Without active inclusion of those with different perspectives, opinions and ideas, you’ll never look past the standard operating procedures of the industry.  You can’t see the wood for the trees.

Innovation programmes are designed with inclusion as a primary objective.  They bring together and include diverse individuals and engage them in thought-provoking facilitated discussions about industry paradigms and new thought leadership.  They challenge team members to travel outside their normal industry body, to look for new ways of solving intractable issues, and to capture value from new opportunities in ways that traditional thinking can’t envisage.

This is how organisations that foster structured innovation programmes push the efficient frontier of their industry’s cost-value curve out, and leave their rivals scratching their heads wondering what they missed!

Beyond the benefits of growth and revenue, structured innovation programmes also incorporate well-considered failure analysis.  

This allows organisations to truly explore, test, integrate or reject new ideas and methods while delivering the agility they strive to instil and maintain.

If your business doesn’t have its turbo charger of a properly structured and supported innovation programme, you’re almost certainly in the lowest grouping of business growth in your industry, and there’s only one thing with a 94% chance of changing that!

Source: This is a blog article from our archives which was published by the NSW Business Chamber in October 2017 as part of its Business Propel initiative.

Social Sharing Image: Courtesy of JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash‍

Credits: This blog article was written by Andrew Nelson | Business and Growth Strategy Consultant, Blue Ocean Strategy Australia® + James D. Ford GAICD | Principal Solicitor, Blue Ocean Law Group℠.

Important Notice:

This blog article is intended for general interest + information only.

It is not legal advice, nor should it be relied upon or used as such.

We recommend you always consult a lawyer for legal advice specifically tailored to your needs & circumstances.