Sep 22, 2015

Experts suggest using innovation in times of crisis

Photo credit: Dudu Leal

This post was translated from Portuguese.  It was originally posted by FIERGS in Brazil following a keynote presented by Ken Tencer at their Innovation Forum, “Innovation in Times of Crisis”.  The original post can be read at: http://www.ielrs.org.br/pt-br/noticia/especialistas-sugerem-usar-inovacao-em-tempos-de-crise

“Nothing like a good crisis to generate great opportunities”. This was one of the takeaways shared by Ken Tencer, entrepreneur and Spyder Works CEO, during the 3^rd Forum on Innovation and sponsored by the FIERGS System, through Sesi, Senai and IEL. “Many great businesses have started during recessions,” he told more than 700 people who came to FIERGS Events Center this Wednesday. “It’s important to focus on key clients and invest in innovation in a few areas,” said Tencer, a leader in management and innovation, and co-author of The 90% Rule®, which empowers companies of all sizes to identify, prioritize and implement growth opportunities. “Every day I challenge myself and my team to search for the next 10% of growth. We have to think about innovation every single day”, he commented. During the talk “Cause a Disturbance – a Simple Way to Innovate Continuously”. Tencer, who also co-authored bestseller Cause a Disturbance (2014), recommended delighting customers, “because they will delight your bottom-line”. To do this, the Canadian speaker suggests always listening to your customers, “because that’s where your ideas will often come from”. He said there are six steps to ensure that innovation is lasting and targeted (1) Engage emotions, not numbers, (2) Change the lives of your customers, (3) Connect the dots – between your business and its customers, (4) Identify and rank the opportunities, (5) Develop a plan, and (6) Communicate the plan.

In addition to Tencer, Gijs van Wulfen, an expert on innovation and design thinking, from the Netherlands, also spoke at the event. Van Wulfen is founder of the Forth Method which has been implemented by 35 European companies and is a LinkedIn Influencer, with more than 260,000 followers throughout the world. Van Wulfen shared 10 insights to innovate in times of crisis (1) Teamwork -You can invent alone, but you cannot innovate alone. Innovation must be bought in by all, (2) Choose the right moment, (3) The pace of the process has to be slow, (4) A great idea is a simple solution for a problem or a dream the customer has, (5) If you don’t have new insights, you will not have new ideas (which is essential for the sound operation of a business), (6) Think outside the box, but present it in a box, (7) Have a business plan, (8) Connect with the client from the start of the innovation, because “he is your support”, (9) “Innovation doesn’t stop at the first No, that’s where it starts”; 10) Lead your people, show them the way.

Gijs van Wulfen also presented the Forth Method, with its five islands of thought. According to van Wulfen, first we have to know where we want to get to, and then, look for the knowledge to get us there. “Ideas will come after a while and, with knowledge, we can choose the best ideas, try them, get the feedback, and then outline our business plan”.

Also presenting at the Forum was the company Imobras, which was featured in the Best Practices Toolbox, an initiative by the RS Innovation Center in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. The Center was created to support businesses in generating innovative solutions to their own challenges.

By Ken Tencer

Category: Icicle, Innovation, Spyder Works

Tags: cause a disturbance, conference, guest article, ideation process, innovation strategy, recession

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