The article “Training Managers to Lead”, written by Robert Paxton, can be found in the February 2014 issue of the HR magazine.
The article is a first-person account of how a global company shifted its innovative strategies, from the creation of innovative technologies with the view to finding customers who might be interested in such technologies, to undertaking innovation with the view to meeting a market need.
This is rather insightful, considering the fact that most businesses first come up with innovative ideas before delineating the target market segments the innovations would fulfill.
In the proposed business of developing innovative anti-aging products using active and natural ingredients, it is targeted that the products will meet the market needs of the urban affluent and baby boomers, who are willing to use these products to maintain a younger and fresher appearance.
The article is clear that for innovation to drive business strategy and competitiveness, leaders must readily provide responses to questions such as (1) what are the market opportunities, (2) how does these opportunities align with or advance the business strategy, (3) what is the sustainable competitive advantage and alternatives, (4) does these opportunities generate synergies and leverage core competencies, and (5) what are the talents (skills and competencies) and the organizational requirements.
The strategy concepts that need to be comprehensively covered in establishing a new business, according to the author of this particular article, include market segmentation, recognizing and eloquently implementing a customer value proposition, designing the value chain within a particular industry or domain, determining strategic control points and customers’ readiness to pay more for various features, and establishing a vertical incentive to demonstrate to customers how they benefit from working with the firm.
All the mentioned factors are at the core of the proposed business as they are of immense importance in deciding if the business will succeed.
For example, while it has already been mentioned that the market opportunity entails baby boomers and the urban affluent, the core competencies that the beauty and cosmetics business will use include (1) a new computer-based technology to extract customers’ own stem cells and conduct a comprehensive analysis aimed at coming up with compatible ingredients, and (2) possibility of partnering with upcoming technology firms that employ algorithms to match customers with personalized beauty samples.
The author of the article underlines the importance of strategy development and execution if the organization in question is to achieve the set objectives, including growth targets and competitiveness.
In undertaking this process, leaders and innovators should dedicate time to working together and focusing on strategic thinking, with the view to brainstorming ideas and coming up with cutting-edge innovations through a meaningful shared experience as well as valuable mentoring and feedback.
The author is categorical that such exchanges and processes generate an enabling environment through which employees in a business entity seize opportunities and create breakthrough innovations for growth and competitiveness.
Overall, it can be concluded that the article is not only informative but insightful in analyzing issues relating to business innovation and strategy.
Although the article is in the human resources domain, it undertakes a point-by-point analysis of the factors and processes that need to be considered to spur innovation in a business, and also provides a framework to ensure that the existing market opportunity aligns with or advances the business strategy of the business in line with the objectives of growth and competitiveness.