Global competition has made innovation more vital than ever. But how can small-business owners – especially those launching a new product or service – be innovative and sustain that momentum over time? The first step is to implement an innovation strategy, then make innovation part of a continuous process.
Defining an innovation strategy
“An innovation strategy helps identify the business potential for an innovation before investing in it,” explains Adam Froman, CEO of Toronto-based Delvinia, a data-collection company focused on stimulating business innovation. “It also allows you to measure the commercial viability, either directly or indirectly, to an organization. Many innovations end up being simply research and development because they are either an idea without a business case or they are too far ahead of the market to be successful.”
