5 Top Innovation Strategies to Accelerate Growth

Last week, we identified Innovation and growth as being inherently linked.?

Companies that build new businesses and develop new offerings, processes, or?business models are better able to capture growth opportunities - as well as and?hedge against market and technology disruption?in a highly uncertain business?environment.

We also found that top performers cited innovating new offerings as their number-one?investment priority for accelerating growth over the next 12 months.?

So...How do top performers accelerate growth through innovation?

5 Top Innovation Strategies to Accelerate Growth

McKinsey's research showed that each of the top 20 companies followed a clear path of?strategic advantage in choosing their innovation investments, to both maximize the upside?potential and limit risk.?

They based their strategies on?5 evergreen principles of innovation.

1. Commit to an innovation aspiration.?

Companies that pursue growth even during downturns consistently outperform their peers,?according to McKinsey's research, their leaders foster an aspirational mindset by building an innovation culture and ensuring?employee ownership of growth initiatives.

2. Discover new ways to extend your strengths.

Top performers master ways to take their unique strengths and deploy them profitably outside?their immediate ecosystems.?

Where are your?manufacturing capabilities, intellectual property, customer relationships, and other?strengths truly distinctive??

AI tools can facilitate these searches, revealing more granular growth pockets faster than traditional?methods.?

Following your competitive advantage essentially extends your core business?to adjacent or even?breakout opportunities, but with less risk.

3. Accelerate into tailwinds.?

If operating in an industry with high growth momentum - thanks to rapid innovation, such as in?semiconductor or biotechnology sectors, or significant headroom for growth, as is the case with emerging?technologies - focusing on gaining more market share in that sector by innovating new offerings or?acquiring new capabilities is a less risky (and likely more profitable) growth path than moving into an?unfamiliar sector.?

Companies in mature or highly competitive markets, on the other hand, can bolster their growth by exploring high-growth markets elsewhere.

4. Evolve and disrupt your own business - even the entire ecosystem.?

Many of today’s top companies didn’t just ride industry tailwinds - they created them. For example,?defense technology unicorn Anduril Industries is challenging the industry’s conventional “cost plus”?acquisition model in the public sector by fostering an open ecosystem of partners to build customized,?interoperable solutions.

5. Scale faster by hardwiring M&A into your innovation capabilities.

Many leading organizations acquire capabilities, such as technologies or intellectual property, to accelerate?their growth. They define growth opportunities they want to capture, develop lists of capabilities required to?win in those spaces, and then assess which capabilities they already have, which they should build organically through innovation, and which they need to buy.?

Such capability maps help business leaders chart paths into areas of strategic importance and reduce the?risk of falling behind competitors.

Final Thoughts

Every company that aspires to outgrow its peers in revenue and profit could benefit from these practices.?

However, the organization’s competitive context, health, and performance will determine the right mix and?intensity of each innovation lever.

• Which Innovation Strategies makes the most sense for your business?
• Which Strategy would open the door to new possibilities?

Top performers understand that?investments in innovation are the best way to secure growth in an uncertain?economic environment.?

By innovating new products, processes, and business models as a means of both expanding their core businesses?and breaking into new sectors, they not only emerge as leaders of their industries but also create entirely new?businesses that grow the economic pie for all.

To your success.?

What do you think?

Use the comment area below and share your experience or advice on this topic.

Business not growing the way you'd like it to?

As strategists, focused on long-term sustainable growth from a CEO perspective – we help you strategically hone your strategy which drives your Marketing, Sales, Engineering, Operations, Human Resources – every element of your business.

If you're a bit frustrated with slowing or stalled growth – let’s have a short call to see if we can help. Contact me at 480-766-1772 or [email protected] .

Rich Kohler is a Business Growth Expert. His company, Kohler Consulting Group specializes in helping CEOs and Marketing Executives of Mid-Market Aerospace & Defense, Hi-Tech firms who want to accelerate or recapture growth momentum, build a clear roadmap to achieve faster, more predictable and sustainable, profitable growth.

For 30 years, I've used the globally-proven Growth Playbook process to help multiple Private, Private-Equity and Public companies grow profit & sales 10-15%/yr+ including BAE SYSTEMS, Eaton, GE Aviation, Smiths PLC, Transdigm.

Do you need to:

• Address stalled growth, flat-lined revenues, declining profit margins?
• Take a step back to more clearly & confidently navigate complex and rapidly changing markets, intensifying competition?
• Increase clarity and control to reduce the uncertainty and risk around their strategy?

Are you serious about accelerating your growth - and moving to that next level of success?

If so, contact Rich at: [email protected].