development will ensure that a business stays relevant in the market. In order to capitalise on this, it is important to stay non-conventional and think out of the box. There are many case studies of company failures due to business managers and owners allowing technology and new developments to pass them by. Developments such as the cellphone and digital imaging created business opportunities, but left a string of existing businesses without a product offering.

Even big corporates that did not analyse their macro environment trends, such as new developments, failed. To be successful as an entrepreneur or a business manager, there has to be a certain amount of discomfort with current situations and a need to develop and change through continuous improvement. An innovative manager will have a bird’s eye view of how the innovation will be taken to market and how the business will be established and grown into a successful enterprise. Top management support and commitment is the most crucial factor contributing towards success. When innovation brings radical change, the role of leadership in innovation will increase.

generation of new products, new processes to produce such products, the development of new markets and new relationships with suppliers. It often requires the restructuring of the company as well as managing change and the resistance thereto. Innovation is not a once-off invention out of which a company will make money; it is a continuous process of lateral thinking and action.

Innovation should, however, be well-timed and wisely applied. The objective is not to change product offerings completely. Wright contends that, although Trinitas has been going for five years, the innovativeness of the product combination has not been exploited. To change it now will be too soon. Innovative thinking is applied to take different variations of the service to market and to improve continuously.

Innovation in business includes the

78 Management Today | September 2011