Although every company needs to create new growth products and services to prosper, not all firms are on sound enough footing to boldly go where no company has gone before.
Judge the situation at your own company by answering these three questions, advises innovation expert Scott Anthony in a Harvard Business post about the future of Sony.
- Are you rarely surprised by your financial performance?
- Are your revenues and profits growing above the average for the categories in which you compete?
- Do you frequently lead the industry in the introduction of new products or service offerings, as opposed to always having to play catch-up?
“If you find yourself sadly answering ‘No’ to these three questions,” says Anthony, “it might be the wrong time for you to focus on creating new growth business. It might make more sense to focus on tightening core processes, improving the process by which you introduce close-to-the-core improvements, or even selling or shutting down a business line or two.”
Related reading: Jumpstarting Innovation: Using Disruption to Your Advantage (HBS Working Knowledge)
