The creativity of a company determines its survival in the competitive market. Companies that respond rapidly to trending issues and develop solutions to emerging problems become more inventive and survive the stiff competition from related companies within the industry. Thus, companies take different approaches to improve competitiveness and cultivate a culture of innovativeness and inventiveness. Some of the ways companies promote a culture of innovativeness include investment in research and development, learning from past failures, talent identification during employee recruitment, openness to trying new ideas and promoting a risk-taking culture.
Investment in research and development and a robust R&D team enables companies to be more innovative. The R&D department identifies market opportunities by spotting issues affecting customers and developing practical solutions to these problems (Fast Company, 2021a). The Covid-19 pandemic brought the global economy to a standstill as governments imposed strict measures to curb the viral spread. Organizations were forced to develop creative strategies for operating or closing their operations. Most economies got into recession as millions of people lost their jobs (Fast Company, 2021a). The world wanted quick solutions to this problem. Moderna’s and Pfizer’s robust R&D departments responded to this problem by leading the world into developing vaccines and making them available commercially.
Another strategy that helps companies boost their innovativeness is learning from previous mistakes. Following years of distributing products through a long chain of intermediaries such as wholesalers and retailers, Nike started losing touch with its customers. The company’s products also reached the customers at inflated prices. As a result, the company started losing customers to competing firms. Nike learned from this experience and implemented an in-store shopping platform where clients interacted directly with the company (Fast Company, 2021b). Nike employed its website and social media such as YouTube to connect with its customers digitally. The company further launched Nike Experience on its Training Club app-connected customers from various regions, enabling them in Nike-sponsored events and workshops hosted by local athletes. Resultantly, Nike reclaimed its relationship with the market.
Talent identification during recruitment is another strategy companies use to cultivate a sustainable culture of innovativeness. Tesla, for example, has a recruitment strategy that identifies top talents for various design sections to accelerate innovativeness in the company. Elon Musk, the CEO and Chairman of Tesla Inc., does not shy off taking new risks by trying new things (Fast Company, 2021c). He believes that risk-taking is the key to building creativity and innovativeness. Thus, he encourages the management of Tesla and SpaceX to develop and try new technologies. In this regard, Tesla and its affiliate company SpaceX have become some of the world’s most innovative companies, rolling new products ranging from fully-automated electric cars to space vehicles every year. Another company that believes in sustainable innovativeness through talent identification during employee recruitment is Amazon (Fast Company, 2021c). Jeff Bezos’ vision to build a customer-centric organization guides Amazon’s recruitment. The company focuses on people with a similar vision to work tirelessly to develop and test new technologies. Hence, the company has become a global giant in retail and technology.
In summary, sustainable strategies enable companies to cultivate a culture of creativity and innovativeness among their employees. Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. and SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Amazon Inc. believe in talent identification during employee recruitment as key to innovativeness. These companies promote risk-taking and openness to new ideas to accelerate innovativeness. On the other hand, Nike promotes innovativeness by learning from past mistakes. Thus, a company that previously survived a long distribution chain has removed intermediaries and promoted direct interaction with its customers. Companies with significant investments in research and development also experience rapid innovativeness. A culture of sustainable innovativeness enables companies to adjust to changing market trends and maintain competitiveness.
References
Fast Company (2021a, March 10). The 10 most innovative biotechnology companies of 2021. Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/90600141/biotech-most-innovative-companies-2021
Fast Company (2021b, March 11). The 10 most innovative retail companies of 2021. Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/90600263/retail-most-innovative-companies-2021
Fast Company (2021c, March 10). The 10 most innovative space companies of 2021. Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/90600324/space-most-innovative-companies-2021
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