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 accountants and, more importantly, to our customers.

Are we offering new products and services to our customers? Are we using the latest technology?

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

With the internet and access to information so readily available, how long can we maintain our standing as compliance experts?

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

Are we, more importantly, looking at our customers to see if we can help them understand the need to innovate and improve in their businesses? If our customers are not successful, how can we be successful?

As a group, accountants are said to be very conservative – maybe it’s time for us to open our eyes a little wider, see what is coming, and innovate or die.