Innovating to Compete
Innovating is a form of competitive behavior. When we innovate, we compete with someone or something. We innovate to survive. We innovate for glory. We innovate to win. Leaders of organizations need to understand and leverage this competitive aspect of innovation to embed it into the organization.
Innovating to compete occurs at many levels:
- At the national level, governments compete with other nations for trade, economic power, and global political influence.
- At the municipal level, cities compete aggressively to attract investment, firms, and employees to stimulate jobs and economic growth.
- At the industry level, competition among sectors is fierce. Industries want to attract customers, investment, talent, and favorable government treatment.
- At the company level, firms want to be more competitive by differentiating themselves in the marketplace.
- At the business unit level, franchises compete with one another for budget resources and manpower.
- At the individual level, peer rivals compete with each other for promotion and bonuses.
- At the personal level, we compete with ourselves to achieve a new “personal best” when overcoming challenges.
Here are suggestions of what leaders can do to embrace competition and drive innovation: