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Will You Add? - Innovation - The Bright Light in the Night Sky
Hezbollah terrorists are not just destroying homes and towns in Israel. Their actions are also having an effect on the global freight industry. As fighting continues in Lebanon the damage caused to Beirut airport has prevented any commercial flights to or from the country.A number of leading freight services (including companies from the UK) have suspended the transport of cargo to and from Beirut airport. Many freight forwarding companies are still transporting goods to Damascus. However if Syria enters the fray in support of Hezbollah with whom it has close links, commercial transportation to that country might also be affected.One of the key reasons for the cessation of flights to Beirut is the fact that the city’s runway has been damaged. However, if the violence escalates the issue of safety may also prevent the transport of freight to and from the country.Indeed, only last week two truck drivers were killed at the Beirut Container Terminal where they were waiting to collect cargo to transport out of the country.Although air freight to Lebanon is affected, since the port is still open
3. Early Majority
34% of the population fits this category as they are more deliberate and usually rely on social comment and information from friends than in discovery on their own. Early Majority people are of the "wait and see" variety. Leaders want to see how the competition is using the changes and what the impact is. If it's positive, then this group will start to explore using the innovations.
An organization lead by a person of this category will seldom get the best positioning for getting new products to customers, but they also see this as a less risky option and will not potentially have significant losses on innovation since it is now being generally accepted.
4. Late Majority
34% of the population are in this category and are typically skeptical, traditional and enjoy the stability of their situation (sometimes right or wrong.) The Late Majority are the last ones on the bus. By the time this group is ready to accept the innovation, it has become widely used and pretty much the new norm. They have lost all competitive advantage and in their opinion, hopefully lost all
Lubricants are a substance that sits between two moving surfaces to reduce wear and friction on the moving parts. Maintenance Lubrication is used in anything that has a moving part from a computer hard disk drive to an airplane and beyond.Lubrication can be either liquid or non-liquid. Liquid lubricants are often made of 90 per cent oil base and 10 per cent additives. Most often the oil that is used in industrial maintenance lubricants are mineral oils, which are petroleum fractions. Other synthetic oils and liquids can also be used such as flurocarbons and silicone. The additives to the industrial maintenance lubricants help to reduce the friction and wear, disperse heat that is caused by friction, increase the viscosity of the lubricant, reduce oxidation and contamination. Some of the most common additives in industrial maintenance lubricants are metal deactivators, corrosion and rust inhibitors, anti-oxidants, anti-foaming, demulsifying or emulsifying compounds and others that help to reduce wear and friction in the moving parts as well as reduce pressure and increase viscosity.The non-liquid industr
As Wikipedia brought Encyclopedia Britannica to its knees, as the iPod makes portable CD players second class citizens, so goes the road construction lighting industry.
Powershift
The Powermoon Helimax completely shifts the thinking on lighting for the construction industry. Its design is unique, memorable and outperforms typical light tower flood lighting in many ways. The Powermoon is a helium-filled translucent balloon containing four lamps with four mirrors giving off 360° illumination without glare and provides 5 times as much light for the same power consumption. It's lightweight and portable (can fit in the back of a car), can be quickly inflated and can be used up to 150 feet off the ground. It is a German innovation that has yet to reach the US market in critical mass. Why would something with such performance improvements not be completely taking over the industry here?
Do you see the light?
Many people reading this article will say I've never seen this in the United States, I like my normal light stands or this is some fad that will never catch on. The resistance to change is normal as the majority of people shy away from the unique, the different and the unknown -- until it becomes common place. Sometimes, that can be too late.
As Everett Rogers outlined with his bell curve of innovation adoption there are five categories of adoption. As a business leader you set the tone of where you want your company to be in the innovation curve. If you are a traditionalist and resist the new ideas your staff will mirror that approach or become frustrated with such resistance to change and may move on. If you are at the front end of innovation adoption, you set the tone, you are a cutting edge organization and will attract employees who desire to work under those conditions and thereby will work best with customers who want to own the latest and greatest.
Resistance to change is within all of us to some degree. It can come from your sales staff who resist selling non-traditional services or products to your customers who see you as the supplier of these few products and ONLY these few products. Understanding where your customers fit into the innovation adoption curve will help you understand how to approach them in your sales efforts. Finding where your sales staff fits into this information will help you have greater understanding of why they like selling (or resist selling) certain products and services.
1. Innovators
2.5% of people fall into this category. They typically are venturesome, educated, enjoy being cutting edge, have a greater propensity to take risk. Innovators are constantly willing to invest the time and energy to learn to adapt to the new demands of the innovation.
Innovators ask questions such as: How can I use this new technology to gain a competitive advantage? How can I be the first person to make an impact with this new product idea? What changes do I need to make in my organization to bring this new idea to my customers as fast as possible?
Innovators tend to be boundless in their ideas and energy for trying new things. They typically feel not constraint from budgets, time, or current direction.
The innovators see this new idea in lighting and immediately jump to new possibilities in addition to the intended use. In fact, the Powermoon is now being used for search and rescue, event illumination and as an alternative advertising vehicle.
2. Early Adopters
13.5% of people fall into this category and they are typically opinion leaders, educated and popular. The early adopters are essential for new ideas to become profitable ideas, because these are the people who enjoy telling others about what they have discovered. They are always willing to try out new ideas, but a bit more carefully than the innovators.
Early Adopter business leaders keep a close eye on industry changes and are looking for ideas they can use to strengthen their businesses or product lines. Leaders in this category ask their sales team to do some exploration with customers to see how receptive they are to the new ideas being contemplated. Where the Innovator takes on the new ideas and then tries to get customers to use them, the early adopter will get the input from the customer first and then make the effort to use the innovation.
3. Early Majority
34% of the population fits this category as they are more deliberate and usually rely on social comment and information from friends than in discovery on their own. Early Majority people are of the "wait and see" variety. Leaders want to see how the competition is using the changes and what the impact is. If it's positive, then this group will start to explore using the innovations.
An organization lead by a person of this category will seldom get the best positioning for getting new products to customers, but they also see this as a less risky option and will not potentially have significant losses on innovation since it is now being generally accepted.
4. Late Majority
34% of the population are in this category and are typically skeptical, traditional and enjoy the stability of their situation (sometimes right or wrong.) The Late Majority are the last ones on the bus. By the time this group is ready to accept the innovation, it has become widely used and pretty much the new norm. They have lost all competitive advantage and in their opinion, hopefully lost all c
A lot of attention is paid to skills for job candidates including how to act, dress, the right questions to ask – and not to ask. Less attention is given to the right kinds of questions for hiring managers to ask. While it is usually clear what the hiring manager SHOULD NOT AND CAN NOT ask, little notice is given to the right key questions. One of the most important things any executive or manager can do is to hire the best people. As resume is only part of the story. Asking and getting responses to tough and probing questions is essential to eliminating the wrong candidates and identifying the right ones.TELL ME A BIT ABOUT YOUR PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND? Resume in hand, this is an opportunity to screen the candidate even if you or human resources has already done so over the phone. The key is two fold. First, to insure that what is of interest in the resume is addressed by the candidate. Second, to observe the candidate’s poise, presence, tone, self-confidence, manner and body language. How would this person come across to your boss, your boss’s boss and to your top customers?TELL ME ABOUT YOU
Do you see the light?
Many people reading this article will say I've never seen this in the United States, I like my normal light stands or this is some fad that will never catch on. The resistance to change is normal as the majority of people shy away from the unique, the different and the unknown -- until it becomes common place. Sometimes, that can be too late.
As Everett Rogers outlined with his bell curve of innovation adoption there are five categories of adoption. As a business leader you set the tone of where you want your company to be in the innovation curve. If you are a traditionalist and resist the new ideas your staff will mirror that approach or become frustrated with such resistance to change and may move on. If you are at the front end of innovation adoption, you set the tone, you are a cutting edge organization and will attract employees who desire to work under those conditions and thereby will work best with customers who want to own the latest and greatest.
Resistance to change is within all of us to some degree. It can come from your sales staff who resist selling non-traditional services or products to your customers who see you as the supplier of these few products and ONLY these few products. Understanding where your customers fit into the innovation adoption curve will help you understand how to approach them in your sales efforts. Finding where your sales staff fits into this information will help you have greater understanding of why they like selling (or resist selling) certain products and services.
1. Innovators
2.5% of people fall into this category. They typically are venturesome, educated, enjoy being cutting edge, have a greater propensity to take risk. Innovators are constantly willing to invest the time and energy to learn to adapt to the new demands of the innovation.
Innovators ask questions such as: How can I use this new technology to gain a competitive advantage? How can I be the first person to make an impact with this new product idea? What changes do I need to make in my organization to bring this new idea to my customers as fast as possible?
Innovators tend to be boundless in their ideas and energy for trying new things. They typically feel not constraint from budgets, time, or current direction.
The innovators see this new idea in lighting and immediately jump to new possibilities in addition to the intended use. In fact, the Powermoon is now being used for search and rescue, event illumination and as an alternative advertising vehicle.
2. Early Adopters
13.5% of people fall into this category and they are typically opinion leaders, educated and popular. The early adopters are essential for new ideas to become profitable ideas, because these are the people who enjoy telling others about what they have discovered. They are always willing to try out new ideas, but a bit more carefully than the innovators.
Early Adopter business leaders keep a close eye on industry changes and are looking for ideas they can use to strengthen their businesses or product lines. Leaders in this category ask their sales team to do some exploration with customers to see how receptive they are to the new ideas being contemplated. Where the Innovator takes on the new ideas and then tries to get customers to use them, the early adopter will get the input from the customer first and then make the effort to use the innovation.
3. Early Majority
34% of the population fits this category as they are more deliberate and usually rely on social comment and information from friends than in discovery on their own. Early Majority people are of the "wait and see" variety. Leaders want to see how the competition is using the changes and what the impact is. If it's positive, then this group will start to explore using the innovations.
An organization lead by a person of this category will seldom get the best positioning for getting new products to customers, but they also see this as a less risky option and will not potentially have significant losses on innovation since it is now being generally accepted.
4. Late Majority
34% of the population are in this category and are typically skeptical, traditional and enjoy the stability of their situation (sometimes right or wrong.) The Late Majority are the last ones on the bus. By the time this group is ready to accept the innovation, it has become widely used and pretty much the new norm. They have lost all competitive advantage and in their opinion, hopefully lost all
When all else fails in your company to meet the needs of your customer consider a customer service consultant. If you find that agents in your company are constantly having misunderstanding that result in loss of customers bring in a consultant. There are a number of resources available in books and on the Internet to help you find which consultant best suits your company.A customer service consultant will help re-evaluate your company objectives and see if they match your current customer service trends. They provide training programs, workshops, and coaching methods that will help to maximize your agents’ abilities in order to meet customer needs. This will help your agents to handle negative experiences by the customer internally rather than forcing them to contact the corporate office for resolution. Sometimes it depends on how well agents in your company can endure and handle negative calls that may or may not lead a customer to choose to do business with a competitor.Customer service consultants will monitor performance of your company’s agents to determine how effective your customer service
1. Innovators
2.5% of people fall into this category. They typically are venturesome, educated, enjoy being cutting edge, have a greater propensity to take risk. Innovators are constantly willing to invest the time and energy to learn to adapt to the new demands of the innovation.
Innovators ask questions such as: How can I use this new technology to gain a competitive advantage? How can I be the first person to make an impact with this new product idea? What changes do I need to make in my organization to bring this new idea to my customers as fast as possible?
Innovators tend to be boundless in their ideas and energy for trying new things. They typically feel not constraint from budgets, time, or current direction.
The innovators see this new idea in lighting and immediately jump to new possibilities in addition to the intended use. In fact, the Powermoon is now being used for search and rescue, event illumination and as an alternative advertising vehicle.
2. Early Adopters
13.5% of people fall into this category and they are typically opinion leaders, educated and popular. The early adopters are essential for new ideas to become profitable ideas, because these are the people who enjoy telling others about what they have discovered. They are always willing to try out new ideas, but a bit more carefully than the innovators.
Early Adopter business leaders keep a close eye on industry changes and are looking for ideas they can use to strengthen their businesses or product lines. Leaders in this category ask their sales team to do some exploration with customers to see how receptive they are to the new ideas being contemplated. Where the Innovator takes on the new ideas and then tries to get customers to use them, the early adopter will get the input from the customer first and then make the effort to use the innovation.
3. Early Majority
34% of the population fits this category as they are more deliberate and usually rely on social comment and information from friends than in discovery on their own. Early Majority people are of the "wait and see" variety. Leaders want to see how the competition is using the changes and what the impact is. If it's positive, then this group will start to explore using the innovations.
An organization lead by a person of this category will seldom get the best positioning for getting new products to customers, but they also see this as a less risky option and will not potentially have significant losses on innovation since it is now being generally accepted.
4. Late Majority
34% of the population are in this category and are typically skeptical, traditional and enjoy the stability of their situation (sometimes right or wrong.) The Late Majority are the last ones on the bus. By the time this group is ready to accept the innovation, it has become widely used and pretty much the new norm. They have lost all competitive advantage and in their opinion, hopefully lost all
Style, poise and flair are qualities that are difficult to define, but easy to spot. Everyone knows someone who is graced with them, and, chances are, that person is at or on the way to the top of his or her profession.Certainly a winning image isn’t the only factor that determines career success, but it is an important component. In today’s highly competitive business world the quest for corporate advancement is complicated by the changing nature of the workplace.Diversity, job mobility and internationalization present new challenges. Corporate restructuring, downsizing and fierce competition for advancement mean that success requires more than good work and positive attitude. Without the right professional image, even loyal, reliable workers will be more likely to get pink slips than merit badges.Many people think that all you need are excellent skills to be successful, but in fact, to move up the corporate ladder today you have to understand image, political skills, and attitude. No one is born with a winning image, though some learn it at an early age. Style is acquired.There are seven
The innovators see this new idea in lighting and immediately jump to new possibilities in addition to the intended use. In fact, the Powermoon is now being used for search and rescue, event illumination and as an alternative advertising vehicle.
2. Early Adopters
13.5% of people fall into this category and they are typically opinion leaders, educated and popular. The early adopters are essential for new ideas to become profitable ideas, because these are the people who enjoy telling others about what they have discovered. They are always willing to try out new ideas, but a bit more carefully than the innovators.
Early Adopter business leaders keep a close eye on industry changes and are looking for ideas they can use to strengthen their businesses or product lines. Leaders in this category ask their sales team to do some exploration with customers to see how receptive they are to the new ideas being contemplated. Where the Innovator takes on the new ideas and then tries to get customers to use them, the early adopter will get the input from the customer first and then make the effort to use the innovation.
3. Early Majority
34% of the population fits this category as they are more deliberate and usually rely on social comment and information from friends than in discovery on their own. Early Majority people are of the "wait and see" variety. Leaders want to see how the competition is using the changes and what the impact is. If it's positive, then this group will start to explore using the innovations.
An organization lead by a person of this category will seldom get the best positioning for getting new products to customers, but they also see this as a less risky option and will not potentially have significant losses on innovation since it is now being generally accepted.
4. Late Majority
34% of the population are in this category and are typically skeptical, traditional and enjoy the stability of their situation (sometimes right or wrong.) The Late Majority are the last ones on the bus. By the time this group is ready to accept the innovation, it has become widely used and pretty much the new norm. They have lost all competitive advantage and in their opinion, hopefully lost all
“What business are you in?” This is common question heard from local chambers to networking events throughout the country. Standard replies include manufacturing, production, retail, sales or professional services.However, even though most companies’ successes are the result of their employees’ efforts, employees are not considered part of the business. The focus is the outcomes of their efforts and not the individuals producing those very same outcomes.In the Spring of 2001, Jack Welch, now retired CEO and President of General Electric (GE) stated that GE was “in the people development business.” By focusing on developing the potential of each employee, Welsh believed the outcome was a stronger, more creative and higher performing company.If you wish for your company to become a “people development business,” the following suggestions may assist you.1. Spend more time in people development. Welch spent 75% of his time developing his people while most executives spend 25% or less time.2. Walk the talk. Employees often hear executives talking the talk, but these very same executi
3. Early Majority
34% of the population fits this category as they are more deliberate and usually rely on social comment and information from friends than in discovery on their own. Early Majority people are of the "wait and see" variety. Leaders want to see how the competition is using the changes and what the impact is. If it's positive, then this group will start to explore using the innovations.
An organization lead by a person of this category will seldom get the best positioning for getting new products to customers, but they also see this as a less risky option and will not potentially have significant losses on innovation since it is now being generally accepted.
4. Late Majority
34% of the population are in this category and are typically skeptical, traditional and enjoy the stability of their situation (sometimes right or wrong.) The Late Majority are the last ones on the bus. By the time this group is ready to accept the innovation, it has become widely used and pretty much the new norm. They have lost all competitive advantage and in their opinion, hopefully lost all chance of risk by now getting into the game. Frequently, innovation has become a commodity by the time this group gets involved.
5. Laggards
16% of the population. Traditional people caring for the "old ways" are critical toward new ideas and will only accept innovation once it has become mainstream. Laggards are not interested in change and will accept the innovations only when they become the only option. They are more focused on the fear of what might happen be accepting the change than in the potential benefits.
Organizations with a Laggard in a leadership role will be struggling to remain competitive and customer orders will be in decline. In some cases, the leader may just want to ride out what he has until he can retire. The workforce under a leader of this category will be older and of like mind.
All Aboard
Let's say you love these new innovations you are finding and see great opportunity if only your customers were as into innovation as you are. How can you spread these innovational ideas and products to your customers?
Knowledge
The more information you can use to encourage learning about the existence and function of the innovation the better informed your customers will be. Resistance is most often the fear of the unknown. The better you can develop a knowledge base for your customers the more understand they have of the product and the benefits the will enjoy. Sales today is as much about good information as closing techniques (or more so.) The better informed your sales staff is about products and serves the easier they will be able top over come the initial rejection of something new.
Persuasion
Once upon a time sales were all about slick persuasive tactics that gave the profession a bad rap. The fact is persuasion is still one of the most effective selling tools but through a different approach. Becoming convinced of the value of the innovation is key for the customer to accept that this proposed change is advantageous. Understanding the customer's resistance to innovation is critical. If the customer is a Laggard, no amount of persuasion will bring this customer home if the idea is still very new. By the same token, if you are dealing with am Early Adopter, good information and a clear understanding of benefits may well be enough to get the customer on board.
Implementation
Sometimes nothing sells like a free trial. Innovations often need to be seen or felt before the idea becomes real to the customer. For example, you can have all the specs on why the Powermoon is a better option, why it can be cheaper to operate, why it makes perfect sense, but because the concept may be considered so radical, it has to be experienced to be real.
Innovation is the key to growth in any industry. Be sure you are leading the charge for your organization to be on the cutting edge, teaching your sales staff to be knowledgeable of all new products and educate your customers on what really is a significant change in innovation, not just what is the new model. When you help your customers save money, have better performance, and show then a better way, they will think you hung the moon.
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