Yes. No. Maybe. It may help if you are clear on what innovation is. It is often associated with product innovation but more often than not it is more about doing things differently. It is not just a one-off event but a program developed over time.
With that in mind let’s look at three companies, two of which are located in the North Bay. What they all have in common is they have developed strategies that are consistent with their beliefs and really operate at the core of “why” they are in business.
Amy’s Kitchen: Amy’s, whose focus is delicious and nutritional organic foods, is opening its first fast-food, drive-thru restaurant in Rohnert Park. The building’s revolutionary design features a living roof made of grass, solar panels, and a water tower to collect rain runoff, reflecting the core values of the company. Organic food meets fast food? At first blush it sounds like an oxymoron but in reality the drive to combat obesity and a change in eating habits, has brought an emergence of a new class of “fast food” outlets, because we don’t have time to sit down for a meal (seriously).
Audiology Associates: Audiology Associates is a private audiology practice with multiple offices in the North Bay. Their “why” is all about improving the quality of life for their patients. You can buy a hearing aid from many sources but can it adapt to your varied situational needs?
To that end Peter Marincovich has developed an innovative, software-based, prescriptive fitting process that results in at least 93 percent of their patients hearing significantly better within six weeks. The other big benefit is the adaptive process extends the functional life of the hearing aid as the user’s hearing changes over time.
Having perfected this for their own patients, their next goal is to license it to other professionals, including a mobile version. By allowing their values and beliefs to drive their service, they have created an additional market opportunity. In addition, they are thinking differently and improving the quality of life for an even larger number of patients through hearing loss prevention, education, awareness and enhancing hearing assessment techniques.
GoPro: One of the fastest growing companies in the world it can only be a matter of time before GoPro is an everyday word like “to Google” Their founder had a passion for surfing and action sports and was frustrated that he could not record the activity. He saw a gap in the market at a time when camera sales were falling and launched GoPro. The rest as they say is history.
One of the latest applications is mounting it to a small drone for use in movie making -- and I am sure many more innovative uses will follow. Sure there is technology involved but really this is about product, market and channel extensions and out-of-the-box thinking. With all of the exciting video content GoPro has captured, the next innovation might be their own sports channel.
Let’s remind ourselves what is common to all three companies. They are offering a new improved experience; fast food that is good for you, an adaptive hearing fitting system that will improve the quality of life for people, and a camera that can go places previously unreachable a few years ago. What else do they all share? Passion, purpose and a strong “why” to connect with.
I hope you now see the power of thinking differently and I challenge you to ask yourself, What I am going to do differently and with passion?...
Nigel Hartley is a Business Coach with Shirlaws Coaching and Director of Shirlaws USA, Shirlaws is an international coaching firm that works with business owners to have More Money, More Time and Less Stress. You can contact Nigel on 707 573 7154 or by email at nhartley@shirlawscoaching.com. Check us out at www.shirlawscoaching.com and also download our EBook. We are constantly publishing articles and videos on “How to turn on Innovation in your business,” to sign up send me an email.
