Creativity, innovation and continuous improvement are crucial to long term business survival. They are fast becoming the key characteristics of successful and leading edge businesses and organizations over the world. As increasing numbers of foreign investors and multi-national companies enter to set up businesses in Singapore, it is necessary that Singaporean businesses develop cultures that foster creativity, innovation and continuous improvement to remain competitive. These three elements are important for a business to succeed and remain competitive because creativity creates a constant flow of new ideas to improve current operation, innovation helps in greater productivity in new markets and continuous improvement ensures companies constantly upgrade themselves so as to be on par with their rivals.
Creativity drives ideas and enables companies to think out of the box. This re-energizes a company and encourages progress. The flow of ideas also allows more hypotheses to experiment on, such that if one idea fails, one can still try to experiment on the other ideas until the best one emerges. This can thus lead the business to success and keep it competitive. Breadtalk, a local confectionary business shows this importance of creativity. It regularly comes out with different creative breads with unusual names to attract customers. This can be seen from the popular floss bread to bread with catching names like ‘couch potatoes’. It also brings the kitchen, which is usually at the back of the stall, to the front for people to view the bread-making process. The fresh and creative style has won the hearts of the consumers and made the business successful. As the market is competitive and replicas are rampant, it is important to stay creative so as to succeed and remain competitive.
Innovation turns ideas into useful products and services to sell to customers. Being innovative can also help one give a new twist to an old idea and provide one with plenty of problem solving techniques. Businesses can gain from the economic benefits of innovation, which include greater productivity and leadership in new markets. This ensures a competitive edge. The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) experimented and implemented by the National Library Board is one successful example. The RFID, being the first such technology used in libraries in the world, helps to cut returning time for library loans. This means that borrowers need not wait for a long time before they can borrow the books they want. This shows that innovation helps in increasing the productivity of the business. In addition, if innovation is properly managed, it can produce higher rates of return than other form of businesses. It thus shows that innovation is important for a business to succeed and remain competitive.
Continuous improvement ensures a business to be constantly on par with its rival. That is why the Singapore government has been encouraging businesses to develop and take on Research & Development (R&D). Without continuous improvement, one will soon be overtaken by the others, no matter how established one is. The importance of continuous improvement can be shown in Creative Technology. Creative Technology’s Zen Portable Media has won many good reviews and was presented 2004 Best CES Award in USA when it was first launched. Though winning so many commendations, it did not remain at the same position. It continued to improve its technology and came up with the latest Zen Vision. It is an upgraded version of portable media player, which can play longer hours of music and videos and has longer battery life. The Zen Vision was even awarded the Red Dot Design award for superior design quality and innovation in Germany this year. Creative Technology has shown the importance of continuous upgrading so as to match its rivals and to always be on the competitive edge.
We are in the midst of a new revolution within the global economy. As we are rapidly moving from the ‘Knowledge economy’ to what is increasingly becoming the ‘Imagination economy’, it is important to foster creativity, innovation and continuous improvement for a business to succeed and remain competitive. Only then can current operations be improved, productivity be increased and competitiveness to be maintained.