Point of View
I love technology, but not for technology’s sake. Our lives are becoming more and more complex, while businesses introduce new technologies at a frantic rate. Sometimes it seems as if they are just throwing mud against the wall to see if it sticks. Fact is, businesses are getting better and better at technology, at manufacturing, at making things. Unfortunately, they’re getting worse at understanding people, at knowing what to make!
We continue to see exponential growth in manufacturing technology, computing power and network bandwidth, and there is a concurrent growth in the speed with which trends are adopted in the business world. Businesses, in an ever-competitive world, often rush products and services to market, hoping that consumers will accept them. Consumers often take a more skeptical view of such products, however.
Clearly this phenomenon alone suggests that starting with a deep understanding of people, making products and services that meet true wants and needs, is a key competitive advantage. Still, most businesses don’t approach problems this way.
For businesses to remain competitive in the future I believe they will have to achieve three things:
- Break down existing corporate infrastructures and redefine organizations, processes and cultures to be 100% customer-focused.
- Become more agile at customer touch points to allow for continuous improvement, refinement and change.
- Develop strategies, applications and tools that allow for open communication between customers and business.
Innovation that matters is about the people it impacts. Innovation does not only come from the visionary entrepreneur or the intelligent/creative ‘brains around the conference table’. Innovation also can come from immersive research techniques into the everyday lives of people. Innovation that starts with people, not technology, can make businesses successful.
The possibilities are enormous. We can bring business goals in line with the needs of people.