Thirteen Lessons Of Innovation To Guide You Through
2018
What you can learn from this year’s exciting crop of World’s Most
Innovative Companies.
I got my first glimpse of Apple’s newest product as the sun was
coming up. It was just after 7 a.m. on a Wednesday in January, two days after
Apple executives, including CEO Tim Cook, began moving into Apple Park, the
company’s new spaceship-like headquarters in Cupertino. As I was escorted
around the gleaming structure, it occurred to me that it embodied everything
Apple’s products represent: a glimpse of the future, and yet also something
familiar—not science fiction, but a tangible vision made real.
When I sat down with Cook a while later, in a conference room
labeled simply ceo, he talked about how central “humanity” is to Apple’s
products, how tech specs and silicon advancements only matter if they enable
users to improve their lives.
Apple has long been an icon of innovation. In an age of rapid
change, what’s remarkable has been the company’s staying power. This year, it
returns to the No. 1 ranking on our annual Most Innovative Companies list.
Apple is the only business to have passed our editors’ criteria to make the
list every year since 2008. Which does not mean that the company hasn’t hit
roadblocks along the way; in fact, Cook was quite candid that innovation rarely
unfolds in a straight line. While many outfits aspire to emulate Apple’s
system, it’s the company’s adaptability that truly sets it apart. Apple’s
culture combines intense effort, high standards, and a willingness to forge new
paths, even if those paths may threaten the company’s existing products. Who
else would get rid of disk drives that were central to personal computers? Or
headphone jacks? Or a home button on a cell phone, as Apple has with the iPhone
X?
This year’s Most
Innovative Companies coverage is filled with inspiring examples of creativity,
discipline, and positive change. It is our most robust edition ever, including
top 10 lists in 36 categories, drawn from a research pool of thousands of
companies all across the globe. (Many organizations nominated themselves
through a new submission process this year.) What follows are 13 lessons that I
compiled from this data set. Consider it a road map for the year ahead, a
snapshot of what matters most in 2018’s fast-moving innovation economy.
1. DON’T LOOK DOWN . . .
Apple doesn’t obsess about its stock price, Cook says. Focusing on
what he calls the “90-day clock” of quarterly earnings reports distracts from
long-term strategies and investments that are actually the source of Apple’s
success. Instead, the company is always looking out, toward the future. This
may sound surprising, given the bang-bang pressures of today’s marketplace and
Apple’s consistent history of at-least-annual product releases. But the
deadlines that matter, Cook says, come from internal expectations. There is a
balance between speed—a need and desire to keep improving—and patience: a
determination to never release a product that falls short of self-defined
standards for excellence and advancement.
2. . . . BUT WATCH YOUR STEP.
Notably absent from this year’s list are Apple’s fellow tech
giants Alphabet and Facebook. That’s because both, in different ways, found
themselves over their skis this year—and stumbled. Neither one would describe
themselves as supporters of fake news or biased, hate-infused content, yet they
did not do enough to protect themselves or their users. Businesses today cannot
hide from the consequences of their actions, even if those consequences are
unintended. The rate of execution so prized by companies with engineering
cultures may need to be modulated: We now know that fixing the problem after
the fact, as live testing requires, can carry a significant cost.
3. RESPONSIBILITY IS IN THE MIRROR.
Every business can be a platform for cultural impact, and not
simply through soloed corporate social responsibility programs. Patagonia has
had an exceptional year—financially, as well as in the realm of public
opinion—because it has leaned into environmental activism. “Doing good work for
the planet creates new markets and makes [us] more money,” explains CEO Rose
Marcario, who has invested in new recycling and sustainable-materials
initiatives while also challenging various government policies. CVS has thrived
by removing products with “chemicals of concern” from its shelves, as well as
unhealthy classes of food.
4. TRANSPARENCY ISN’T RADICAL.
Why would a company willingly disclose its profit margin on each
item it sells? Because Everlane isn’t embarrassed about what consumers will
find out, and that in turn puts pressure on everyone else to be more open.
Brandless has connected with buyers by eschewing the overt storytelling of
traditional consumer packaged goods, in favor of clear, simple labels—and lower-than-the-competition
pricing.
5. DIVERSITY IS OPPORTUNITY.
Marvel Studios has reinforced its leading position by betting on
new kinds of heroes. Netflix has made it a priority to appeal to kids in
Bangkok on motorbikes. Sephora has targeted products for a broader range of
skin tones, including a crackling partnership with Rihanna’s new Fenty Beauty
brand.
6. MOMENTUM IS POWER.
Apple is hardly the only tech giant to benefit from an integrated
ecosystem. Amazon has demonstrated that big doesn’t need to be slow, from its
rapid Whole Foods integration to its rollout of new Echo devices. China’s
Tencent, already a dominant player across chat, media, finance, and more,
experienced 59% growth in revenue.
7. SOLOISTS STILL STAND OUT.
Spotify’s focus on music has so far fended off even rivals like
Apple, with revenue up 52% and more than 140 million active users globally. DJI
has turned drone making into an art. Compass Group has amassed enough heft in
the food-services business that it is changing what we eat—for the better.
8. THE EXPECTED CAN BE UNEXPECTED.
Sugarfina is redefining the idea of the candy store, while Diamond
Foundry is disrupting jewelry by taking man-made diamonds mainstream. Even our
sullen acceptance of traffic jams is being challenged by Waze.
9. DATA SCIENCE IS FOR EVERYONE.
Math geeks and tech firms aren’t the only ones deploying data in
novel ways. Rover analyzes cues from its community to find better matches for
pet care. Cava is injecting new efficiency—and joy—into the restaurant
business. Syapse is taking cancer care to the next level, saving lives.
10. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS EVERYWHERE.
The machines haven’t taken over, but they are enabling new
activities, from visual search at Pinterest to improved job listings via Textio
to enhanced, real-time travel planning via Hopper. Even plumbers, caterers, and
hairdressers can take advantage of AI, via the customer-and-job-matching
algorithms of Thumbtack.
11. MOBILE IS STILL EXPANDING.
Smartphones are a core tool for healthtech insurgent AliveCor.
They’re the epicenter of the cashless-payments boom, from India’s Paytm to
small-business-fed Square. The NBA, too, is doubling down on in-your-pocket
engagement.
12. MONEY TALKS.
As trite as it is true, dollars dictate action. Which is what
makes a wave of new efforts to fix broken funding models so promising. Social
Capital has taken aim at venture capital, while the Ford Foundation is going
after philanthropy. The folks at GiveDirectly are putting millions behind a
test of universal basic income.
13. KEEP THE FAITH.
Nintendo seemed to be losing the game wars, until the Switch
reignited passion. 23andMe got hammered by the FDA, but has now regained
momentum in genetic testing. We all have good days and bad days, moments of
adulation and despair. What allows innovative organizations—and their
leaders—to keep driving forward is the hope that tomorrow will bring even more
satisfying, fulfilling achievements.
·
BY ROBERT SAFIAN
https://www.fastcompany.com/40525330/thirteen-lessons-of-innovation-to-guide-you-through-2018?utm_source=postup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Fast%20Company%20Daily&position=2&partner=newsletter&campaign_date=02282018
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