Do you ever feel like your business is struggling to innovate?
Like you cannot keep up with the pace of change? Honestly, sometimes I do too. I shared my experience at Mumbrella360 this year and expressed the fact that it is my job to think on my feet and empower a team of specialists to keep our business ahead of our perceived competition. It's hard work. Sometimes we make mistakes, or we release a product too soon before it's complete.
We've learnt to accept that our product development division, the Centre of Excellence, is a team in beta. It is our job to make mistakes so that our clients don't have to.
Plan for disruption
In the knowledge that 1.4 trillion in value has been created by the six biggest digital companies in the last decade, we can't afford to rest on our laurels. We must keep innovating to stay ahead of the exponential growth line of our industry. There are entire industries yet to be created in the next few years, let alone decades, that keep us awake at night.
How much of the industry chatter is bullshit vs. truth? How can we plan for disruption? Is it true that cryptocurrencies are taking over as a digital currency? How long will Uber, a taxi service that doesn't own a single car, retain its multi-billion dollar business? Is the Hilton really nervous that it took 93 years to build an inventory of over 600,000 rooms, and it only took Airbnb four years to generate over 900,000?
We are being digitally disrupted. It can happen at any time, in any sector, and its effect on traditional organisations is real. Are you ready to cope with change?
The only way to avoid total extinction is to live on the edge of your comfort zone, where all the magic happens. My advice? Pay attention to consumer pain points, and tap in to the obvious. Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best, but you still need to address what the consumer wants.
A kitten café in Sydney—who doesn't want to cuddle a ball of fur for a few dollars with their cup of coffee?
Enable your team to push boundaries
I like to give my team the autonomy they need to innovate. While we work within the framework of a high performing team, we are constantly stretching our minds to think about topics that don't necessarily make the business money, or gear our clients for success. This is incredibly important—it allows us the space to break new ground and stay ahead of the exponential growth line.
Give your employees time to breathe. Foster a culture of pure innovation and courageous output. No idea is a bad idea, so we should never shoot someone down for thinking too big or too bold. In fact, by establishing a shared belief of breaking down organisational silos, we can encourage it.
Every agency is constantly restructuring their teams to better suit the needs of their clients or industry. We would be liars to claim we have found one standout model that works each and every time. However, as a team we have developed the ability to continually reallocate resources and organise ourselves rapidly to cope with the changing landscape. Disruption can be embraced or become the biggest threat to your business. It's one or the other.
Don't settle for mediocrity
More often than not, we try and solve problems with advertising shaped solutions, when we should be trying to solve our client's challenges. I urge you to look for opportunities outside of your industry's boundaries.
Ignorance to change and a lack of agility are the biggest pitfalls of businesses that have been destroyed by disruption. Shockingly, this has led to 52% of all of F500 companies either being bankrupt or ceasing to exist since 2000.
Don't be a statistic, become an anomaly.