Proactive Management Tips for Sustainable Business Innovation

Our sustainability consulting often finds even the most progressive business models and strategies can become stagnate if left unattended. Soon a once thriving business can become a dinosaur in a rapidly evolving marketplace. For this reason, we keep a keen eye, not only new ideas, but the business sustainability efforts that drive innovation’s successful implementation

The Innovation Management post, How to Implement Radical Business Models, explores some of the common roadblocks and missteps in today’s new idea implementation processes. Contrasting the exciting times of business growth before the economic downturn, the article explains the need for more aggressive management in today’s conservative business environment.

“To be successful in radical business model innovation requires companies to go beyond the traditional modeling: ideas are only one part of the innovation equation. Business model implementation requires structural changes in your organization; otherwise, you will just get stuck with a beautiful model on paper.”

As the article goes on to describe, implementing radically new ideas is quite different than implementing incremental ideas. It requires:

Lot’s of experimenting: new business models need maturing and many times the model you designed initially, will not be the model you will implement.

Dedicated human resources with different skills, different knowledge and with little attachment to the current business or business model. Unless your current business is failing, few people will want to risk their current success for an unknown future.

Separated structure from your current model. Although synergy is recommendable when it benefits the new model, many times companies try to squeeze the new model into the old framework.

Funding as a venture capitalist: New ventures and new business models need capital, not budgets; The yearly budget cycle will: set aside too little money for great ideas, too much for unsuccessful ideas, none for great ideas that pop up during the year.

The ability remain open to test new ideas and different strategies will often payoff in both short-term and in the long run. By taking aggressive implementation management actions to address sustainable change, your business can stay one step ahead of the competition. Visit with our sustainability consulting website to learn how an effective engagement and communication plan can play a key roll in managed innovation and the pursuit of overall business sustainability.