i3 - May/June 2019 - 43

By Scott Steinberg

Business

FO RWA R D ST R AT EG I E S

How to Achieve Greater
Success for your Business

urprise: Just when you think you've got the
consumer technology business mastered,
disruption hits. In fact, the single biggest
theme in the high-tech business world is unpredictability, according to PwC's 2019 CEO Survey. Worse,
executives say their confidence in their enterprises'
ability to grow is at a record low. So how can your
business thrive in an age where senior leaders say
that (even after years of investing in digital transformation) they're hard-pressed to gain the insights
needed to make smart decisions?

Seb Oliver/Cultura/Getty Images

The Simple Secret

Start taking more risks, not fewer, and
steadily invest in initiatives that drive
ongoing learning and growth for your
workforce especially while things
are going well, and you can afford to
take chances.
Likewise, since customers are consumer technology leaders' most reliable
source of successful new ideas, it's
imperative to proactively put systems in
place that can help frontline employees
better monitor shoppers' shifting needs,
and rapidly adapt business strategies
based on their feedback.
In uncertain times, tech industry pros
reveal, you must take more chances.
However, these risks should come in the
form of smart, cost-effective bets on new
initiatives (e.g. new product solutions or
customer outreach campaigns) that can
help you quickly gain deeper insights
into changing customer preferences to
make more informed strategic decisions.

The Elmer's Case Study

For 65 years, Elmer's Products has been
creating glues and adhesives under the
direction of individual executives, who
C TA . t e c h / i 3

decided which products to make and
when. But recently, the market began
changing so fast, the company needed to
create new ideas to appeal to younger
audiences, especially millennials that are
becoming parents.
So, Elmer's created a website where
employees can suggest innovative new
concepts. It also put out open calls for
partners, vendors and even the public to
submit ideas. Thousands of submissions
later, Elmer's is cranking out more successful concepts faster than ever. In fact,
its cutting-edge School Glue Naturals
line - created in partnership with a
supplier - is one of the first and most
successful natural products to appear in
classrooms nationwide.
Worth remembering: Many high-tech
organizations can go from concept to
execution in less than 30 days. Likewise,
our consulting firm has multibillion-dollar clients rolling out new apps every six
weeks for $20,000 apiece all year round
- just for the learning experiences they
provide. If you want to get better at
operating in a world where customer
needs and competitive landscapes are
continually shifting, challenge your

team to think differently. Put communications tools in place that give workers the ability to help great ideas bubble
from the bottom up.
The trick to succeeding in disruptive
environments is to encourage your team
to apply fresh strategies and solutions,
track results and improve your
approaches based on market feedback.
It's also important to promote entrepreneurial thinking throughout the organization - and give people room to focus
on long-term goals by providing the
tools, time, freedom and support that
they need to reimagine everything.
Routinely review the impact of your
company's initiatives, and reallocate
funds being poured into less well-performing programs into those poised to
make a real impact. Likewise, move your
organization's focus away from strictly
short-term cost-cutting to steadily reinvesting in long-term growth.
Finding ways to stay relevant is easy
when you keep an open mind and
encourage your people to apply new
strategies. Forget the phrase "thinking
outside of the box." If you're thinking
right, there are no boxes in place to
begin with.
The bottom line is: Embrace change
and reinvention - the more you do, the
more you can grow, stay competitive and
create the future you choose, whatever
tomorrow may bring.
MAY/JUNE 2019

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i3 - May/June 2019

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