The Weekly Innovation - Issue #4
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Why Does The Path To Retail Innovation Go Through So Many Labs?
It’s not enough to be a retailer these days, not if a merchant intends to survive in a world of commerce dominated by the likes of Amazon and other tech-focused competitors. Innovation is one of the keys to advancement — and that increasingly means opening tech hubs, incubators and other such operations.
Those efforts have certainly led to significant advances in product and revenue, and the enablement of what’s come to be called the “consumer experience.” But not all innovation labs or tech hubs give rise to seamless tech progression. Building new retail tech and processes is not the easiest thing in the world — to state the obvious — but the wrong mindset or approach can derail even the best efforts, those with ample funding and purpose.
Time To Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone?
New Survey Says Americans Remain Positive on Technology & Innovation
In a recent survey conducted on behalf of the Charles Koch Institute, Americans’ confidence in technology is one distinct area where the familiar segments of the American population give way to unified expression. This cohesion is best exemplified in the finding that 92% of Americans indicated their belief that innovation is a big part of American culture and history: a near unanimous result.”
This article points out that this optimism cuts across life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness:
- Life: We live longer and better due to medical innovation
- Liberty: Technology in the workplace gives us more freedom
- Pursuit of Happiness: Innovation improves well being and connects us
The Innovation Cult
For most of its early life, the word “innovation” was a pejorative, used to denounce false prophets and political dissidents. Thomas Hobbes used innovator in the seventeenth century as a synonym for a vain conspirator; Edmund Burke decried the innovators of revolutionary Paris as wreckers and miscreants; in 1837, a Catholic priest in Vermont devoted 320 pages to denouncing “the Innovator,” an archetypal heretic he summarized as an “infidel and a sceptick at heart.” The innovator’s skepticism was a destructive conspiracy against the established order, whether in heaven or on Earth. And if the innovator styled himself a seer, he was a false prophet.
By the turn of the last century, though, the practice of innovation had begun to shed these associations with plotting and heresy. A milestone may have been achieved around 1914, when Vernon Castle, America’s foremost dance instructor, invented a “decent,” simplified American version of the Argentine tango and named it “the Innovation.”
Look inside the new $1.3 billion complex at Singapore's Changi Airport
Innovation means being open to new ideas
If you do a Google search on “what is innovation?” you’re bombarded with multiple definitions from leading experts, respected publications and even the dictionary. You will also find many articles that quote the overly ominous, “Innovate or die!” refrain and illustrate the point by citing failed businesses like Woolworth’s, Kodak and Blockbuster. But innovation within your accounting firm need not be overwhelming or scary at all. In fact, it can be a lot of fun and lead to greater revenues.
So what exactly is innovation? The string that binds all the definitions together is that innovation exists when something new, whether it be a product, process or service, is added to your organizational mix that results in added value or increased efficiencies. True innovation will typically have a positive impact on both the innovating business and the end client.
When innovation becomes disruption
Everyone’s a disrupter these days. Whether it’s trying to disrupt capitalism or trying to disrupt how the residents of San Francisco consume their overpriced juice, no one seems to be happy with the way things are. However, I believe we’ve run into a problem of sorts that there is not much disrupting left to do.
Vision of the Future...?
Aussie small businesses are way behind Asia in innovation
If you’re an innovative small business owner in Australia, you’d be the ‘exception’.
When it comes to innovation, e-commerce, social media uptake and exports, which are drivers of business growth, Australia lags far behind our Asian counterparts with little activity or investment in these areas, according to a new survey by CPA Australia.
“We are being outperformed on innovation by a significant margin by our competitors in Asia,” said CPA Australia head of external affairs Paul Drum.
Retail Leaders Share 4 Rules To Radical Innovation
I was recently talking with Terry Jones, Founding CEO of Travelocity and Co-Founder of Kayak, who shared an interesting perspective on disruption, “My innovation is your disruption. It is only disruption because you didn't do it!” This concept to me is at the heart of the transformation of retail we are all experiencing.
To discuss this further, on March 4, 2019 at the major retail conference Shoptalk in Las Vegas, I moderated a panel of four retail leaders to shed light on how companies can become innovators. The panel was: Sharon John, CEO, Build-A-Bear Workshop; Amit Shah, Chief Marketing Officer, 1-800-Flowers.com; Paulo Carvao, General Manager IBM - US Retail, Consumer Goods & Travel Transportation; Kate Gutmann, Chief Sales and Solutions Officer UPS, including 5,000 The UPS Stores.
Robots are coming for all the jobs. Even the ones in professional sports!
“The key to success is to learn, and then do things on your own terms. The definition of success is to do things on your own terms. You get what you want, by being it and not chasing it!”
Read the back issues...
The Weekly Innovation - Issue #1
The Weekly Innovation - Issue #2
The Weekly Innovation - Issue #3
Thanks for reading....
?Anthony J James - LinkedIn #1 Power Profile - Marketing & Advertising | LinkedIn Top Voice - Australia | LinkedIn Asia Pacific - Most Influential Agency Voice