Banbury business specialist's tips for innovation

A business growth specialist from Banbury marks Innovation Day with tips to inspire business owners to reach greater height.
Kevin RileyKevin Riley
Kevin Riley

Innovation Day, today, Sunday, February 16, is designed to bring attention to those who aren’t just producing new technology, but those who are pushing the envelope on what could be done and what is possible.

With innovation being such a buzzword in this fast-paced world, it’s become a crucial part to any business – big or small. Kevin Riley, a business growth specialist from ActionCOACH Banbury, knows the challenges the areas businesses are facing.

Kevin said: "Businesses have to evolve and innovate every single day. If they don’t, they’ll see everyone else around them is moving forwards. If you don’t keep up, not only will your business stand still, it will actually retreat from the competition.

"One way to innovate in your business is to think of it as a living, breathing entity – introduce new methods, ideas or products to give it life.”

Here are Kevin’s top tips on making your business more innovative:

• Teach someone something. There’s nothing better than relaying your expertise onto someone else, enabling them to grow. As a business owner or team leader, you should be present and nothing sends that signal stronger than taking your time to teach someone something.

• Be enthusiastic. Enthusiasm is infectious and promotes creativity. If you’re excited, that usually resonates throughout the rest of the team. What’s more, you should have a space where employees can voice their ideas in a safe and comfortable environment.

The more at ease they feel to make suggestions and come up with ideas, the more of them you’ll see.

• Tell someone they did a good job. As humans, it’s natural to want to feel like we’re doing the right thing. And appraisal is an important part of that. If a member of your team does something that is worthy of a pat on the back, then do it.

There’s no greater satisfaction than feeling appreciated for what you do.

• Communicate in a way that suits the individual. People work in a whole manner of ways and your approach to how you communicate with them should reflect that. It’s becoming increasingly important to be on the same level as employees to ensure you optimise operations and encourage ideas.

• Talk about the future. Looking ahead is key to any business - your employees should be on that journey with you. They’ll feel like a valued member of the team and will be more likely to stick around for the long term if you communicate what you hope to achieve for the business as a whole.

Kevin added: “All of these aspects promote a more feedforward approach, rather than feedback. Einstein’s definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same results. How do expect to reach the next level if you simply don’t change the system?”

Kevin will host his monthly business BookCLUB where business owners can share secrets of success and best practice.

His next event is at The Antelope Inn in Lighthorne on February 27, with your first session free. To find out more, visit warwick.actioncoach.co.uk.

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