Innovation in business: is it really necessary?
When it comes to innovation in business it’s often a buzzword that’s thrown around along with descriptors such as critical, necessary, crucial etc. Yet, there is an argument to be made that innovation in business is not always necessary and in fact could be damaging! In this blog we’ll take a look at innovation in business and explore whether innovation is really necessary, or not. Do you need to innovate? We put together a FREE guide identifying the Top 6 reasons businesses fail and give you actionable steps you can take on every one of these to make sure it’s your competition failing and not you! It’s our free gift to you. Access it here! Let’s explore when innovation is helpful and then we can explore when it’s not. Top instances innovation is helpful Innovation can be helpful for a wide range of reasons and can be a key component of long-term business success. However, there are two important drivers of innovation that are more important than the others. Long Term Survival Disruption is very real and it can completely resurface how businesses operate and we have seen plenty of examples of how very established business models failure is traced back to innovation and disruption; blockbuster & netflix, taxi’s and uber are just a couple of recent examples. Innovation can be essential for long-term survival in business today. Competitive Advantage Fast paced industries and businesses often require innovation to create a competitive advantage. It’s why we often see tech companies working furiously to develop new and innovative approaches to existing products and problems. Innovation is often a necessity to create competitive advantages today in these types of industries. Top instances innovation is unnecessary and (potentially) damaging For every business and industry where innovation is essential, there are other businesses and industries where innovation can hurt more than it helps. Here are two types of businesses where innovation may hurt more than it helps. Stable Market There are plenty of businesses and products where innovation simply isn’t all that necessary. Something as simple as the paper towel or toilet paper are great examples of stable markets that need and require little to no innovation. In fact, trying something new here is as liable to cost money as it is to make money. Risk With change comes risk and we do a disservice if we don’t consider that innovation can carry some serious risk. There are a number of examples where companies try to innovate and fail badly. Those innovation failures can lead to serious business losses and potentially catastrophic business consequences. The verdict: is innovation necessary? As the Doc likes to say with all things, it depends. There are businesses and industries where innovation is essential and there are circumstances that require businesses to innovate or fail. There are also plenty of instances where it doesn’t make sense for a business to innovate especially if the market is stable and lucrative. Ultimately the decision to innovate shouldn’t be automatic and, as with all decisions, it should be made carefully and with all due diligence. Does your business require innovation? Let us know your thoughts, you can email us at info@jbandthedoctor.com! Did you know we work with professionals and leaders with 2 on 1 coaching that marries the expertise of a Doctor of Psychology and mindset coach with the business savvy of a former Fortune 50 sales executive. We specialize in helping entrepreneurs and professionals like you master your soft skills to evolve you to your greatest potential. To learn more about our coaching you can contact us here! Feel like you need coaching but not sure you can afford the investment in yourself? That’s ok! We have a scholarship available to diverse candidates of need. You can apply for our scholarship for our coaching and our courses here. Not enough time in the day, we get it. Check out our AYOP course, 2x Your Time, right here. We walk through everything from time management and calendar basics to how you can supercharge your days weeks and months through practices and techniques that are grounded in experience and proven by science.
Innovation and Online Learning
Online learning/E-Learning is one of the great potential disruptors of our time. I’m being serious. Higher education costs are skyrocketing; the average cost of tuition for higher education is going up 8% a year. That’s doubling the cost of education every 9 years or so. With the increased adaptability of online education systems such as course sites, meeting space, virtual class rooms and the onset of augmented reality, it really does make sense that great innovation is coming to the education space, specifically online learning. It’s backed by the money pouring into it too! As of 2020 the e-learning marketplace was a $250 billion market according to Global Market Insights. It’s expected to SURGE 21% per year to through 2027 to eclipse the $1 TRILLION mark. FYI it’s already 2021, are you prepared for that level of growth in the next 6 years?Oh, it’s not just paid for e-learning that growing either. Harvard alone has over 600 courses available online…FOR FREE. The market is exploding in all corners and every indicator is pointing to a lasting innovation. Still not convinced? How about looking at the strength of traditional universities today. A study and analysis by consultant Paul Friga of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges found that colleges could lose a collective $183 billion as a result of the pandemic. That is simply not sustainable. But there’s more. We are seeing greater and greater gender inequality at traditional higher education institutions. Today nearly 6 out of 10 students are female, an all time high. In fact over the last 5 years there’s been a drop of over 70% of men enrolled in higher education. It doesn’t take a data analyst to see that there is change here and more change coming in the educational space and it may very well be centered on the e-learning and digital learning platform. Innovation in this market is radically changing how we go about our education today. During times of radical change there is always an opportunity to continue to innovate. Our belief in the Entrepreneur Mastery Lab is that we can shift how business is done and how entrepreneurs and service-based professionals learn. We can innovate in this space and every piece of content we create is designed to help pave the road for professionals like you to have greater success and greater access to the tools you need to rise to mastery in your profession. If you’re in this space or thinking about entering into this space, join us in the lab, where we can all help each other grow. For more great conversation around innovation join us in the lab you can check it out here. To get a glimpse into how one of our very own members is innovating check out our most recent Podcast with Jeff Mount of Real Intelligence. You can listen in to our conversation with Jeff and how he’s actively innovating in the financial planning market. Listen now!