Business Innovation: Why and How?

A successful business needs more than ideas. For an organization to innovate, it must have levers to implement the new ideas. These levers may be a service, a process, a product or a different or new approach.

A corporate culture serves as a springboard for opening up to new approaches. Then you can target and prioritize projects that allow you to achieve your goals. Innovation allows organizations to enhance their competitiveness, meet the changing needs of their sector and accelerate growth. Without innovation, you can’t move forward.

If you’d like to equip your organization with the innovation tools required for healthy growth, you should focus on:

• A favourable corporate culture upheld by senior management;
• Collaboration between various stakeholders at every level of the organization;
• Ensuring that research and development play a central role;
• Integrating new technologies to improve efficiency.

The four most common types of innovation are as follows:

• Incremental or progressive innovation. This is also known as continuous improvement as it essentially involves improving an existing product or service;
• Adjacent innovation. This is most common where an organization acquires another company and integrates its products into its existing technology structure;
• Radical innovation. This involves marketing a brand new product or service;
• Disruptive innovation. This type of innovation shakes up the market by introducing a breakthrough product or service. However, there are risks associated with such a bold move.

It should be noted that innovation is not restricted to new products and services. The way in which they are designed and developed can also be innovative. Among other things, this includes processes, related roles and responsibilities and the technological tools deployed to support productivity.

Companies innovate in order to boost productivity and meet the constantly evolving needs of their clients, partners and employees.

Through innovation, business leaders can avoid stagnation. Indeed, innovation can enhance competitiveness and improve the satisfaction of clients, partners and employees.

Are your organization’s processes optimal? Could they be more efficient, which would improve performance? Are your products and services still profitable in the current context? There are many questions to consider. You must start by conducting a personalized diagnosis. This will show how you can improve your organization.

In order to innovate, you must first put in place the cornerstones that support innovation. These include a conducive corporate culture, listening and collaboration. The organization’s leadership team must also support the drive to innovate.

Furthermore, a strategy and plan must be put in place for each identified innovation. You must assess the risks, pinpoint your objectives and put in place all the levers required for a successful change process.

An innovation project must be adapted to the organization’s specific needs and rolled out in stages. You should prioritize the most beneficial short-term results for your organization, while integrating the medium- to long-term changes that lie ahead into your plan.

Each strategy must be tailored to your specific needs. Innovation is a means to achieving your goals and a component of your business strategy.

However, there are four main types of innovation strategy: progressive (incremental), adjacent, radical and disruptive, as described above.

Some of the main obstacles to implementing innovative projects are:

• A fear of change;
• A shortage of competent resources;
• An overly rigid corporate culture;
• The lack of a strategic vision;
• Insufficient financing.

Overcoming such barriers requires a strong leadership team and appropriate support.

Business leaders can finance innovation using:

• Equity financing;
• Bank loans;
• Government grants;
• Private investors or venture capitalists;
• Federal and provincial tax credit programs.

Our experts can help you to fully understand the existing programs.

Before embarking on a financing plan, you should implement a strategic planning process. This allows you to define objectives, identify the required resources and plan the key project stages.

A financing plan plays a critical role in determining your project’s financial needs. You can earmark sources of financing and ensure your project’s economic viability. A financing plan allows you to structure the development phases and obtain the financing and investments that you need.

Another essential element of your financing plan is preparing financial projections. These projections allow you to estimate your future revenues, expenditures and cash flows, which creates a clear picture of your company’s long-term financial health. They also help you to identify your financing needs and plan your strategies for attracting investors.

You should also understand the difference between operating expenditures (also known as “OPEX”) and capital expenditures (also known as “CAPEX”). Operating expenditures are recurring costs related to day-to-day operations such as salaries and maintenance fees. Capital expenditures are long-term investments such as equipment purchases or the construction of new facilities. Effective management of both expenditure types is a crucial component of a financing plan that allows you to maintain your project’s financial health.

Furthermore, expecting the unexpected is essential. You should allow room to maneuver in both your budget and timeline to deal with potential delays, additional costs and unexpected roadblocks.

Lastly, to ensure your project runs smoothly, you should put in place monitoring and control mechanisms to define performance indicators, carry out regular reviews and adjust the financing plan based on the results achieved. These measures help you to stay on track and reach your goals while remaining on time and on budget.