Innovate or Die

“The most successful businesses were far more likely to offer the latest products and services, using the newest technology.”

“[The most successful businesses] also spent more time and resources on trying to identify areas and technology in which their business could get ahead of the competition.”

These two quotes are from an article written by Business Development Bank of Canada – “The Five Do’s and Five Don’ts of Successful Businesses.” So let’s consider what this means to us as business owners and stewards for non-profits.

Are we offering new products and services to our customers and clientele? Are we using the latest technology and improving our business processes?

Or are we simply maintaining the status quo – just doing the same things in a slightly different way?

Are we looking at all the changes happening in the world and really asking what effect they’ll have on us – or are we going to be the next Blockbuster Video and be SMACked by technology?

As software becomes more intelligent and communications faster, are we not more open to competition down the street but also around the globe?

As a Canadian business group, we are said to be very conservative, but maybe it’s time for us to open our eyes a little wider, see what’s coming, and innovate or die. We don’t want to be in the bottom 20% of the businesses in the BDC survey that are failing and likely will not survive the current economic environment.