WHY COMPANIES MUST INNOVATE WHILE THEY ARE AHEAD, INSTEAD OF RELYING ON TODAY’S SUCCESSES

We build companies and products faster these days and we have the potential to fail faster – much faster. In fact, the average tenure of a firm in the S&P 500 has shrunk from 61 years in 1958 to only 18 years in 2016.  Even amongst the largest and most successful companies, standing still is no longer an option. The most powerful opportunity – and, indeed, the only opportunity – for brands is to continually innovate and disrupt. 

The Forbes Most Innovative Companies list reveals the powerful impact of an innovation premium on brands like Amazon and Uber. Amazon, for example, has moved into one sector after another and gentrified it, even if that meant tearing down its own existing structures. It has meant they have been able to run one of the most successful companies for over 20 years.

Rather than resting on the laurels of UberX, Uber continues to invest into new innovation in self-driving cars. There is every possibility that those innovations will disrupt Uber’s own business, as it will introduce a new direct competitor to its drivers.  But Uber, now the world’s most valuable venture-backed company, clearly views that as a less important risk than standing still. Read more

Peter Bradd - Dynamic Business - 26 Apr 2017