Innovating with Urgency

This article was written by Guest Contributor Nigel Harris of PowerStick.com

Innovation and the ability to turn ideas into action are two key ingredients an entrepreneurial company needs to be successful.

Lots of companies have innovative ideas, but how many are able, or are willing to, convert these blueprints into successful products?

In many companies there is often a total disconnect between conception and execution. This is particularly true of those organizations whose culture doesn’t allow for a rapid connection of the two.

In the truly innovative organization, cool ideas are quickly recognized as potential opportunities. For them, it is not all about analyzing, qualifying, and quantifying. Instead it is more a case of, “If we build it, will it sell, and if it doesn’t then will we be wiser when the next opportunity presents itself?”

True entrepreneurial organizations are motivated by the urgency to create, execute and deliver. If they worried about over-quantifying each opportunity, they wouldn’t proceed without commitments. Instead, they are more likely to say:

“Look, we all like the idea, there are no others like it out there and the risk/reward ratio looks pretty good, so let’s go for it.”

Once the company says “go”, the team never looks back, and moves fast forward with a total commitment.

When it comes to acting on opportunities, it is not about the potential downside. It is about innovating with urgency, and making a commitment to always stay at least one step ahead of the competition.