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Running a successful company is a challenge enough on its own, but entrepreneurial success is not the same as being an innovator. Innovation is the key to becoming an industry leader, someone who has changed the way their industry works and whose innovations continue to drive fundamental market changes.

Overcoming Risk Aversion

Too often, innovative ideas are stifled by a risk-averse culture. Innovation is often the first thing that gets shelved in a tough economy as companies double down on what they know works, but risk aversion can easily lead a company toward a slow death as it loses effectiveness and leaves its customers increasingly dissatisfied.

Overcoming risk-aversion is all about your leadership style. Innovative leaders embrace new ideas from their teams and approach change with a healthy attitude. You don’t have to plunge head-first into every new idea, but it is up to you to create a culture that fosters and encourages outside-the-box thinking.

Researching and Identifying Consumer Behavior

Innovation starts from a place of problem-solving. True disruption anticipates shifts in consumer behavior, providing a unique solution that speaks to a deep-seated and potentially unknown need.

Innovators bring industry expertise and a clear vision of what the market wants. New technologies in other sectors often drive shifts in consumer behavior.

A great example is the effect that Uber has had on consumer expectations. People increasingly want instant access to services. Uber gave them the freedom to choose their ride options and hail a ride anytime, anywhere, without having to deal with an operator.

Matching Technology to Industry Problems

When you have both industry expertise and a team that can identify shifts in consumer behavior, you can start working out how to match technology to the problems faced by the industry. In an age when new technologies are being released at a rapid pace, the challenge of business leaders is finding the right way to apply new tech.

Finding the right technology for industry-wide problems is a recipe for success. One success story is Nobul, a ground-breaking digital marketplace that’s shaken up the real estate industry for good.

Founder and inventor Regan McGee identified a few crucial problems with the business:

  • Real estate agent commissions are high
  • Those fees haven’t changed in decades despite changes to the job
  • Many homebuyers don’t understand where those fees come from

Nobul launched a digital marketplace that gives consumers more information about potential realtors and puts realtors in direct competition with each other.

Speaking to the magazine Toronto Life, McGee said, “A lot of people claiming to be disruptors and innovators in the industry are doing the exact things that have been done for decades. I’ve never seen anybody doing close to what we’re doing to create a consumer-centric experience.”

Forget Brainstorming Techniques

As a leader, creating an environment that encourages your team to tackle questions like these is no simple task. You can’t teach innovative behaviors out of a book. That’s one reason to avoid brainstorming techniques. They expect participants to come up with unique, innovative ideas by following a set of rules.

Innovation comes from a place of curiosity, imagination, and problem-solving. Both you and your team need the right environment for creative thinking to thrive.