Top 5 Innovation Lessons by Market Action Research
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Prior to my weekly company meetings, I often find myself scanning through some of my favorite magazines while waiting for my fellow colleagues to arrive. This week, I came across the latest issue of Fast Company. I was drawn to this particular issue because it covered “The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies.” As I was browsing through the pages, an article entitled “Twelve Innovation Lessons For 2014” caught my eye. It was a well-written piece – informative and truly insightful. I shared the twelve lessons with the MARS team after the meeting, and we decided to reflect on our top 5 favorite lessons and provide our Martian take on each. Enjoy:
1. Unlocking Global Talent Unlocks Possibility
We live in an interconnected world. The vast advances in instant telecommunications have opened up doors to a global economy that was previously deemed improbable. We now have the ability to bridge the gaps in geography and utilize the talents from all across the globe to help reach a common goal. We are big believers in the power of a collective group striving to make something possible.
2. Exceptional is Expected
The Internet is flooded with people of all sorts. Everyone is either a critic or a salesman (and sometimes both): everyone has something to sell, and everyone has something to say. Because of this, we have an oversaturated internet marketplace. 25,000 new mobile applications are released every day in the App Store, so anything less than exceptional is quickly forgotten and discarded. In many cases, even exceptional products take time to get the recognition they deserve. Need an example? Cue Flappy Bird.
3. Dreaming Big Isn’t Folly: It’s Required
The Internet has opened up many avenues. It gives us a window to see what is going on across the globe at all times. To succeed in the world, one needs to dream big. The global economy has put competition at an all-time high: innovative products and ideas are being released to the masses daily. Dreaming big may have been downplayed in the past, but it is a very real necessity in the present.
4. Happy Customers Make You Happy
As stated earlier, we live in an interconnected world. With that being said, our desire for transparency is reaching new levels. Customers have always been an important facet to business, but with websites such as Yelp, customer feedback has the capacity to make or break a business. Making the customers happy means making your business happy.
5. Passion is Under-rated
As always, we had to save the best for last. If we had to choose our absolute favorite lesson from the list, this would be it. Passion truly is underrated. Passion is what leads to innovation; passion is what drives individuals to break out of the box and become thought leaders. Money isn’t everything. Dreams and visions have to take root somewhere, and it is passion that drives dreams and visions to blossom into reality.