You/your boss in 20 years: „We need to be innovative.”

Luty 20th, 2011

Welcome back to the Business English Magazine Blog!

Last week we touched upon the subject of teamwork and making great things happen. The latter refers to a big picture area- innovation.

Now what does innovation mean exactly? In broad terms it stands for „Invention: a creation (a new device or process) resulting from study and experimentation.” (Princeton University WordNet).

As a leader of a team (just like Steve Jobs at the team that invented the iPod) you have to see through to the „other side”, in other words enthusiastically rehearsingthe „We need to be innovative! Yay! Let's go make it happen!” line, will not be innovative.

Why do we need innovation at all? Well for a starter if innovation was not necessary we would be still sitting in our caves as the primitive man thinking of what to hunt for dinner. So by inventing the wheel, paper, pencil, phone, car, Internet and so on, it brought us to where we are today as a society and World citizens.

Today innovation is on top a priority „to-do” lists of large and small companies. CEOs and team leaders relentlessly look for an answer to the question of: „How do we become an innovative leader in what we do?” It is that much harder to have the right answer for it, as the question changes everyday depending on what our competitor, the global trend, or consumers themselves choose it to be. Sadly we don't possess any control over it. We have to take a cautious notice of what's going on around us, as nothing is constant in the global business world, interconnected in a huge network called the Internet. There is an upside to it tough, imagine being a shoes vendor 50 years ago and trying to figure out what your competitor is doing a few dozenkilometers away. Today the answer is a few clicks and a cup of coffee later.

Ok, so we have the tools, technology and it all seems rosy, right? Not quite, this is only the first stage of innovation- research. Then comes the scary execution stage - once we have the answers as to what our competitor is up to how do we occupy a space that he has not yet thought of?

To get some ideas visit Fast Company, which has just published a list of the „The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies”

Also, as part of their „30 Seond MBA” video interview series there are two interesting videos:

„How do you know innovation when you see it?”

and

„How do you generate innovation?”

I will leave you with the reflections for your company/team.

If you have doubts whether your innovative ideas will be successful with your customers, remember what Henry Ford said: „If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

I wish you a very innovative week!

Krzysztof „Chris” Dargiewicz

USEFUL VOCABULARY:

1.  to touch upon - poruszyć dany temat

2.  the latter - ten ostatni; końcowy

3.  the big picture - spojrzenie na dany temat z szerszej perspektywy

4.  innovation - innowacja

5.  in broad terms -  w ogólnym tego słowa znaczeniu

6.  to stand for - znaczyć, oznaczać

7.  to invent - wynaleźć

8.  once upon a time - pewnego razu

9.  to see through - widzieć na wskroś

10.  to rehearse - ćwiczyć; odbywać próby

11.  for a starter - na początek

12.  primitive - prymitywny

13.  society - społeczeństwo

14.  citizens - obywatele

15. relentlessly - nieustępliwie

16.  to depend on - zależeć od

17.  to possess - posiąść

18.  to take notice - zwrócić uwagę

19.  cautious - uważny; ostrożny

20.  constant - niezmienny; stały

21.  an upside to something - lepsza strona medalu

22.  vendor - sprzedawca

23.  to figure out - wymyślić; wpaść na pomysł

24. dozen - tuzin

25.  rosy - różowo

26.  research - badanie rynku; praca badawcza/naukowa

27.  execution - wykonanie

28.  to come up with - wymyślić;  stworzyć

29. to be up to something- planować zrobienie czegoś; knuć

30.  to occupy a space- zająć miejsce, przestrzeń

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