Innovate or Die …uh sorry it should be … Sell or Die
The innovation community has been hit hard by the current business climate. Many companies have stopped innovation activities and innovation leaders are being fired everywhere. I recently got an e-mail that gives a pretty good picture of how grim the situation is. It went like this:
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The company I work for is severely hit by this economic crises. And if that is not enough, our management has been pulling back into the cost saving trenches (Pavlov reaction in manufacturing).
My work in innovation has come to a complete stop and my efforts are now redirected to sales activities. The motto is now “Sell or die”, the earlier motto “innovate or die” has been put into a deep freezer.
So with no money to spend and no manager who is interested in innovation at this time it looks very bleak.
Maybe on the upswing…..
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Let’s hope the upswing comes sooner than expected. Personally, I am afraid we have not seen the worst yet. What do you think?
Sell or die is the kind of thinking that may pay off, but only in the short term. I understand that the people advocating it are driven by fear. But really they are suffering from the worst kind of strategic myopia, or at least they are under the illusion that they'll soon be back to business as usual. Most likely they'll find that the world has changed for good and left them behind.
Innovation should involve also new ways of personal thinking. If the writer of the message you posted does not like sales, he/she would innovate about their own employment
Crisis is opportunity
Unfortunately (or not?) in Argentina we are all experts in crisis (we suffered them periodically). If it is unavoidable, then just enjoy, and innovate your life!
You are right about sell or die. I run a practice in Holland on business model innovation. What I see is that I cant sell the regular innovation projects. I do sell projects where we show clients "the money"! And actually that is ok… I work together with a company Sales Agency and they are able to sell the new ideas and models we come up with… And these guys are loaded with work… As not all sales department are effective….
We in the innovation community ought to take a close look at our associative boundaries once in a while rather than automatically complaining about things we can't control. I have been in sales. There may be no more fertile ground for the innovator. (Why I wrote the book Top Performer: A bold approach to sales and service.) I recently provoked the sales professionals by suggesting they had a great deal to learn from street performer. The principle so of innovation can be applied to all aspects of the business, sales, service, structure, systems and staffing can all benefit from innovative thinking and innovation processes. There is a lot of work to do if you turn your head ten degrees.
Steve Lundin Author of CATS and FISH!
Hi,
Selling what you have only leads to the commodifcation of the business. This drives down margins long term. Innovation is where tomorrow's margin opportunities will come from.
This is the way that businesses die and countries stop being world leaders in business.
Reading this reminds of my time with GE as a business leader. In one session reporting at Stamford. I was told in no uncertain manner that as a leader you had to manage the day to day challenges and also be fit for the future. So it is a blend of innovation and selling not a binary switch for all to stop innovating to start selling.
I have long said that without innovation and updating you are about 5 years from being out of business. It is sad that companies get scared and stop all future thinking in times of stress when the future is what you need to focus on to get through. Having said that, I understand that it is human nature to do what they do. The fight of flight response is alive and well in executives as well as “normal” people. To draw an illustration, when we are facing a bear in the woods we are not thinking about tax day, dinner with the kids, etc. All we can focus on is the bear and the present situation.
The response is normal and expected based on the climate. Good leaders can help a company refocus on the future quickly if they apply consistent and gentle pressure. This condition will change and innovation will restart. It is in our nature to modify our environment and that takes innovation.
Dan
“Innovate” to create new product or “sell” to finance creation of new product are not two sides of the same coin. It’s indisputable that Sales are king, for a company without profit cannot pay the bills and fund innovation. However, if a company expects future growth in earnings, it must set aside funds for innovation or run the risk of stagnation and lagging the competition. Even in tough economic times, a company can find ways to innovate and reduce expenses. That should not be so difficult after decades of excesses and groupthink. We need to turn America around now and create new efficiencies, so the jobs come back home.
Art E.
Organisations that are selling what they do today to hold their position in the market will face stiff competition in the long term.
It's what we/you as a business are innovating for tomorrow, the long term, that will take the business forward.
If you look within your organisation and see that there's very limited resource working on Innovation it's a wake up call to gauge where your future revenues are coming from…
Selling more will protect jobs, revenue, margin in the short term in difficult times but it will only delay the inevitable.
Some organisations get into the cul-de-sac also of cost obession whilst their competitors, start-ups are findings new ways to develop products, services, improve processes or change their business models.
It's difficult times but lets make the best of a GOOD crisis and innovate our way out of it.
Thanks
William
When I hear statements like sell or die, I think about tomorrow. When you sell everything today without adequate preparation for what you will sell tomorrow, then death is inevitable! Innovation is the only thing that guarantees tomorrow's sales.