For the fourth year running Apple tops the Business Week magazine / Boston Consulting Groups’s global poll of the worlds 50 most innovative companies. Google and Toyota filled the other top places.
As Western economies move into slowdown and possible recession then innovation could be a target for cutbacks. However, you can be sure that the best innovators will continue to develop and launch new products and services as a way of differentiating themselves from their competitors. In this respect innovation must be seen as a long term strategy and a philosophy that is core to the values of a business – Apple, Google and Toyota seem to do just that. They nurture cultures that value creative people in good times and bad. They develop a diverse portfolio of projects that helps them weather dud ideas.
Such is the long term success of these innovation strategies, many business guru’s are coining the term “Design Thinking” to describe the move to embrace creativity, innovation and design as top agenda items for board level discussion. Some go so far as to say that the worlds top design schools are fast becoming the new business schools of the future. What do you think?
For more information on the Business Week poll go here:
For more information about how Cultivar Consulting can help you with your innovation strategy go here:
