How do you create a profitable business
that is kicking goals…where good employees want to work and customers want to
return?
How do you build a business where you are
ready, willing and able to take on the challenges that the future holds within
your industry and the region you do business in?
How as a team, an industry, a region can
you find the solutions to moving forward and ensure a strong economic future?
They were some of the many
discussions that were afloat during the Central West Business Summit recently
in Parkes where innovative business leaders and forward thinking organisations
met to put their heads together on the big issues impacting regional
businesses.
Equal
measures of inspiration and information…
A snapshot of 130 of the
region’s small to medium business managers took time out to network and gain
insight from larger organisations and businesses on a day that turned out to be
as equally inspirational as informative.
The success of the one-day Parkes
event (the second Summit) means next year will be even bigger with Bathurst as
the proposed location.
As the dust settles (or more
appropriately as the mud tries to dry!) on the event and everyone returns to
their daily business routines, it is an ideal opportunity to reflect on the key
learnings from the Summit.
Renowned
speaker from ABC TV’s The New Inventors,
and author of Innovation is a State of
Mind, James O’Loghlin’s keynote address kicked it off when he said…
Innovation
is not what you do if you have some time left after you have done all your
work. It is the work!
That
would have to be a key take-away message that we are all guilty of not heading.
Build an innovative culture into our workplace. Put in place processes and
mindsets so innovation is on automatic. Make innovation as normal as having a
staff meeting and as regular as your morning coffee or checking your emails.
James explained that habitual
thinking is the enemy of innovation. He urged business owners to
question everything, challenge their assumptions, reframe the question, analyse
their data and to think like a customer.
Creating
an innovative organisation – think, value, use.
Presenters
and participants have shared what they took away with them from the day and
their attitudes towards innovation. It is interesting to see the many different
angles that were interpreted with people relating different aspects back to
their own business circumstance, but in a way providing collective motivation
for us all.
Innovation is building the
capability within an organisation to be ready for the
changing circumstances of tomorrow.
Innovation is looking at the way
of the future. It is looking at the way people are buying
goods and services and then looking at strategies to implement within your
business to attract these people not only in your area, but further afield.
Innovation is an attitude – it is a
willingness to change and learn new concepts, new ideas and implement them.
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Innovation and change – the chicken
or the egg…
Innovation
and change go hand-in-hand. It goes without saying there wouldn’t be a need to
innovate if there was no change to adjust to and yet innovation is change. The
term innovation is often easier to swallow for many because of the
self-initiated context it conjures.
Steve
Fieldus, founder of Transforce, shared his experience of change within the
heavy transport industry with delegates at the Central West Business Summit.
The NSW Business Chamber Business Awards 2016 Regional Winning business
underwent a substantial branding campaign which included the development and
implementation of a digital ecosystem.
The move
broadened their audience and allowed them to showcase their business - highlighting their point of difference. Steve
spoke on the two primary uses for digital technology in business – to improve
productivity and efficiency (technology for efficiency) and to broaden your
audience and widen your appeal (marketing and branding).
Every business and service now competes on the world stage via the
internet - more competition!
In relation
to the experience of change at a management level, Steve gave some solid
advice. He said change is never easy for the simple reason that no one likes
change – it’s scary!
He explained
that it was important to be upfront and clear on;
- Why the change is happening.
- What is being changed.
- How the change will be implemented.
Change will
only work if everyone understands why there is a need for change and they are
provided with the road map to get there. Consultation
is key! New technology can be costly. It can be a fine line to balance the
needs and goals of a business with the budget available.
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Top business tips from innovative Summit thinkers…
The Central
West Business Summit saw strong collective intellect and dialogue stimulated on
the day to inspire some key innovative business advice. Among the top tips
were…
Recruit people who fit the culture of your business. Skills and competence can be taught, but entrenched
counter-productive values and behaviours are harder to address and even harder to change. Steve Fieldus, Transforce
The Innovation Commitment is an absolute top-down commitment to the cause. It takes years to build up
the expertise. Have realistic expectations. If we knew what we were doing, it
wouldn’t be called research! Alan McKellar, Northparkes Mine
Continually evaluate your business and the commercial environment in
which it operates. Don’t be
afraid to reinvent yourself to maintain your company’s point of differentiation,
but stay true to your core business activities and values. Steve Fieldus, Transforce
When you are green you grow, when
you are ripe you rot! Bruce Buchanan, Central NSW Business
Enterprise Centre.
Be a company that you yourself would be happy to work for or to do
business with. Who really
wants to work for or do business with an unethical, unhappy or poorly presented
organisation? Steve Fieldus, Transforce
Invest
in your business, but
also in yourself. Alison
Stephens, Vine sight & Canowindra Tyre Service
Don’t be afraid of change –
thrive on it, learn from it, use it to access opportunities and open new doors.
It has been estimated that only 42 percent of businesses are innovation active!
It really is time to tap in, get involved and innovate! Caddie
Marshall, Adloyalty
There will be setbacks. The ability to react and adapt is key. Champions get back up and go
another round. The requirement for success – have clear goals that are
measurable! Alan McKellar, Northparkes Mine
BUILD YOUR BRAND. In an
increasingly busy and hectic world it is important that you have a mechanism
through which your business grabs attention. Build your brand. Lift your
profile. Steve
Fieldus, Transforce
And the quote of the day goes to…
If I had asked people what they
wanted, they would have said faster horses. Henry Ford, Ford, Ford Motor
Company (quoted at the Summit by Alan McKellar, Northparkes Mine)
