Strategies for Development

Peter Drucker, The Father of Management, said “Business has only two functions — marketing and innovation.” We are using the word “Development” broadly to include many things companies do not know they need to do like:

1. Organizational Development – The internal Management cadence, policies and processes

2. Management Developing – Growing your employees to take on new responsibility and grow with the company

3. Innovation and Creativity – Not just development of new products and services but innovation in all areas of the business like distribution, sales, operations, delivery, speed, quality etc.

These are the work of executives and managers working “on” not “in” the business.

Change is inevitable, and it can’t be avoided. Your future success depends on your ability to stay ahead of change, and the only way to do that is through consistent innovation and development. Is your business innovating and developing as it should? Ask yourself the following questions:

• Would you describe your business as a leader or a follower in the market?
• Does your culture value and support innovation in all areas of your business, or do you mainly focus only on innovation products?
• Do you have a vision for what your company will look like in five years?
• Does innovation drive better margins and pricing power through differentiation?
• Does your brand and name make your customers think innovative or just another widget to price shop?
• Are you taking advantage of newer technology to create a competitive advantage? New markets? New applications?
• Do you use proven skunkworks techniques to attract and keep top, creative team members?