Small Business Innovation - How To Develop An Innovation Strategy To Set Your Business Apart

Innovation in business is not a new concept. In fact, this is something that has been discussed openly for more than a hundred years. An example is the work of George Hormel, who in 1891 built a meat processing plant outside of his small town in Minnesota. No one had heard of ham in a can, and this eventually became Spam, a canned meat product that achieved an eighteen percent share during its first year on the market.

Hormel believed in developing distinctive products instead of imitating big competitors. That is why today Hormel products are popular on the shelves of every supermarket in the United States and those other companies, well you have never heard of them because they went by the wayside. Innovation is the key to being successful in businesss.

Innovation is an ongoing mindset that allows you to look at the world different, focusing on what could be instead of simply what is. The big idea behind this is that everyone has great potential, and it is the innovators that explore every possible situation to make sure the outcome of that situation has been allowed to develop in a way that will benefit the most people. Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple once said "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." Leaders are innovators, if you want to bring to life the leadership abilities that you have learn to be an innovator.

Ideas are important, but simply thinking of great ideas will never be enough. Instead, it is the implementation of these ideas that separates leaders in business from those who will simply follow what is already being accomplished. You must take action or the idea is nothing but a dream. In order for something to exist in reality you need to put some positive steps in play to make it real. An idea is a creative thought, whereas innovation as a business concept goes past creative ideas and thinking and moves fully into creating tangible goods and services that will improve the global marketplace.

An innovator's mind never sleeps as they continue on their path to serve people and solve problems, adding value to the lives and experiences of their fellow man. Being willing to fail, giving up traditional style thinking, pursuing curiosity and imagination, and stepping outside of your comfort zone are all a part of the process involved in business innovation.