Armed with this perspective, where might business innovation go from here? Let me guide you with some short predictions:
First, innovation management will become more collaborative. R&D processes must be shortened to the minimum.
The ideas will not be sourced in the internal environment of the company.
It will evolve into a more interactive process connecting companies and communities all around the world.
Companies will increasingly compete on the breadth, depth, and quality of their communities that surround their activities. It’s the end of assumptions and hard competition. Partnerships will lead the world. Current and potential customers will be elevated to full partners in the innovation process.
Second, business model innovation will become as important as technological innovation. The business model is the tool for every company where the business creates value for its customers and get outcomes for business growth. Companies spend many millions on R&D, they focus mainly on technological innovation. In the future, this focus will go towards business innovation too. I would advise investing some money and time in exploring alternative business models to commercialize now. Many business models are outdated. In the coming decade, we will learn how to design and improve business models. Research shows that 70% of products will be selling as a service. We will resign from ownership of things. What do you think about this prediction? Does it make sense to you? Share your thoughts in the comments.
I found an irony here. Fashion companies that spend millions on developing new ideas and technologies often lack any process for exploring alternative business models to commercialize those new developments. This must change and will change in the near future. There’s raising need for new techniques that enable to visualize current business model as well as possible alternative models. I’m working on mine, how about you?
Companies wishing to expand (I think most of the brands) business to the rising emerging economies will find that the business models that succeeded in the past will not succeed in these new markets. Business owners will need to learn how to manage multiple, sometimes even conflicting, business models at the same time globally.
We will need to master the art and science of innovating in services-led economies. Most of the available information about managing innovation comes from the study of products and technologies. In order to continue business growth and overall brand expansion, we will have to learn how innovation works in services, which is likely to differ from how it works in products.
It looks like the winning formula for managing innovation in the next decade will be an open-services innovation approach. Do you have doubts about it? I don’t. There are books and articles talking about it.
What is the future of business? Let me close up in a few sentences.
Traditional competitors may become our customers or partners in the new business model, and there may be multiple and sometimes conflicting distribution channels for one’s offerings to reach the market. Companies that will undertake services innovation will lead the market, despite the circumstances.
Innovation is constantly changing, as is the process by which new ideas and technologies get to market. Those companies who rest on their laurels may do well for now, but they must be aware that the innovation process is changing, whether the company realizes it or not.
The best approach is to embrace the idea that innovation will continue to change, and that organizations that seek to profit must take on the challenge of changing with it. The future of business is now.
Are you wonder in which ways you can innovate your business now? You can discover it in about 20 minutes’ time. Simply leave your email address below. We will reach out to you to schedule a call at a time that suits you best.
See you in the next post,
Patrycja Franczak
