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In the Chinese calendar, 2013 is the Year of the Snake. Snakes are notoriously intuitive. At most times, along with intuition is innovation. There is nothing wrong with that. Not that everyone should follow the Chinese zodiac, but this year should be the year when innovation plays a pivotal role in your company. This should be the driving force that pushes your company towards success.

According to Forbes, innovation has been in everyone’s minds. But this remains as such. However, this year, there will be a more proactive approach towards innovation. For one, more and more companies feel the need to change, to transform. A company does not necessarily have to change everything to get there. That would be logistically disastrous. Many companies innovate to move up a notch or so they think. Being business people, to think about the future, you have to set your goals geared towards what you aim long term.

Another important aspect you need to take note of is that gone are the days when companies rely on theories to understand innovation. Employees are no longer that hyped up with interesting success stories about innovation. As mentioned earlier, innovation is about being out there. Owners and managers should look into culture as well as the technology to innovate. But these are not the only aspects that companies should look into. What drove you when you were just starting? How would you streamline your company so you can focus on what is exactly needed and eliminate the redundancies? How well do you understand your business set-up? These are just a few questions you need to answer to innovate during the year.

When companies innovate, there is more than one path. You may just have one path in the beginning, but as you go along, you would soon realize that that path leads to numerous paths. To pinpoint strategically why among the paths are the best possible ways, you need to strategize effectively. That is why it is important to have a management system that will handle such choices.

Innovation will be a key part of doing business this year for a few reasons, Haydn Shaughnessy writes. “Innovation is becoming embedded as a transformation method,” he writes. Methods for producing innovation are becoming more mature, he notes.

Shaugnessy further explains how the perception of innovation has changed.

1. Companies have embraced innovation more now than ever before. It is not because they want o change, but they need to.
2. Innovative methods are also changing with the times. If companies want to look into more effective innovation, they have to be out there.
3. To manage the strategic options is important for the company to have a clearer vision of what the company wants in the future.
4. The Chief Innovation Officer should have a more visible role in the company’s aim to change for the future.

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