November 2021 Volume 3

OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT

Innovating leaders also make sure everyone is included in raising the bar for the organization. Everyone should have a role in innovation. Innovating leaders will encourage all parts of the organization to apply their own horsepower to raising the bar and driving positive change in the areas that they know best. This means everyone from sales to shipping & receiving (and yes even HR) will be encouraged and held accountable for making game-changing improvements and supporting positive change. Be Proactive Not Just Reactive There are times when fixing what is not working is important. An innovating leader however is always looking for proactive opportunities to improve products, services, or processes that are not broken but that can truly move the company forward by leapfrogging the competition and perhaps disrupting the industry. In a recent example we saw at a company, customers were asking for a quicker turnaround when they sent in their instruments for necessary adjustments. The company implemented new ideas for shipping, added more persons in the department, and improved tracking methods. Customers saw improved turnaround and were satisfied. However, their innovating leader and the company’s culture of innovation did not stop with that reactive improvement. Instead, they asked themselves how they could take advantage of this ongoing need to make periodic adjustments to disrupt the industry. They undertook a proactive project to develop a line of digital instruments that could be easily readjusted by the customer, something that no other competitor had. Use Innovation Capacity toMake Relevant Changes Innovating leaders focus onstrategic impact.While all improvements are welcome, not all improvements are strategic. It did Blockbuster no good to improve its retail operations, while Netflix was creating an entirely new landscape for home entertainment. Innovating leaders have clear strategies to win and are constantly making improvements that create relevance. With the current move toward electric vehicles, improvements in battery life and fast- charging options seem a lot more important to a car maker than reducing the cost of mufflers. While leaders are encouraging the team to raise the bar, they also need to be kept innovation focused on what is important to their strategy. What changes are occurring in the market and what are the implications? These changes can include industry shifts (like the move to more wind and solar), supply chain reliability (like the disruptions in shipments from Asia), or customer preference (like helping themselves and not talking to salespeople if they can avoid it). Improvements should be tested for strategic impact. Innovating leaders will make sure those ideas that are helping move the company in ways that help keep it relevant, distinct, and financially healthy get the highest priority.

Why Innovating Leaders andWhy Now? There can be no argument, the world and the environment that companies are operating in is changing, and it is changing quickly. Today, for a company to stay in front of the crowd (and maybe even just stay in business) reactive improvements will just not cut it anymore. Companies will have to act proactively to stay ahead of the changes that are guaranteed to continue coming. Every industry is therefore feeling the pressure to innovate if they want to stay relevant. The winners in any industry will be those companies led by innovating leaders. The forging industry is no different. In fact, it might be a prime example of an industry with changing requirements, changing markets, and changing product demand. But that is not new to the forging industry. History says that forging originated around 4500 B.C. Innovators have enabled the industry to grow and prosper for 1000’s of years. It will need Innovating Leaders to continue its success. Forging may not be the first industry that comes to mind when you think innovation. Most people instead think electronics, or space travel, or IT. But innovation will be as critical (or maybe even more so) to companies in the forging industry as its customers continue to innovate and change their designs and requirements. Now is the time to become an innovating leader, and to ensure your company and your industry stays as relevant as the forging industry has been since 4500 B.C.

Joel Strom is the Founder and CVO at Chief Value Officers. His recent book CEO to CVO, Moving Your Company from Ordinary to Extraordinary is available at Amazon.com. Joel can be reached at joel@joelstrom.com.

Gary Covert helps organizations become (or stay) Dangerous Competitors™— standouts in their market. His e-book Strategically Creative: How to Spark Innovation to Boost, Profits, Growth andMarket Dominance is available for download at www.garycovertconsulting.com.

Joel and Gary are currently creating Innovating Leaders – a global community of inspiring leaders helping each other be more innovative every day. For more information on how to become a part of this community please reach out to Joel or Gary. ■

FIA MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2021 49