While dusting off the last of my CDs last night (my cherished Beatles collection), I came across one of my favorite covers, Abbey Road. I observed how each of the Beatles was walking in uniform manner, yet each subtly showing his strong personality (such as Paul’s bare feet). What was so great about this band is that they perfected their sound and style early in their career, yet they constantly looked for ways to remain relevant through innovation.

A common challenge I help my clients face, particularly in this economic climate, is how to sustain a competitive advantage in their core business through both operational efficiency and incremental technology improvements. While I thrive on finding ways to keep an organization successful and improve the bottom line, I’m ever attentive to the possibility that an organization can become myopic with respect to understanding where the next disruptive innovation will sprout up. So often, we see big companies miss a change in market direction that is addressed by a niche competitor. What excites me the most about my job is the opportunity to help a client sustain its competitive advantage while also finding ways to be the leader in bringing the next big innovation into being, as the Beatles continually did.

Continuous Improvement

The Beatles always knew what made them special and built upon it. Continuously improving processes and delivering competitive products in established markets means you know what you are good at, presumably your core business, and vigorously defend your position. At LEVEL, we look at our client’s go-to-market strategy, internal culture, competitive position and key performance indicators to establish a snapshot of the company’s position and trajectory. The key is to have a baseline that includes a composite view of all the Key Performance Indicators and priorities, so that measurements can be continuously taken long after the project is completed to ensure that our client is defending their core market and making relevant decisions that lead to increased market share and operating margins over time.

Building a culture of innovation

A company creates additional value when it is continually improving its market position. Unfortunately, management’s incentives are often much more tied to growing existing markets that are familiar, making it difficult to explore technologies that utilize disruptive technologies. This is logical because new markets are often much smaller and don’t shine with the generous operating margins and volumes the company is used to with mature products. We suggest to clients that they establish a culture of innovation. There is an array of ways this can be achieved, such as creating an independent organization that allows for the incubation of new ideas. By incubating and insulating these new products, it allows them to grow more slowly, while the market recognizes and adopts the innovation.

Enabling continuous improvement and building a culture of innovation are at the heart of organizations with exceptional financial performance, somewhat like what the Beatles did with rock and roll so many years ago.