With the release of the new Apple iPad Apple Inc. is changing the game. Already Seaton Hall University has announced that it will issue iPads to all students this fall. In the past two months since Apple announced the impending release of the iPad, 22% of all new mobile application developers’ projects were based on that platform.
Apple is not only changing the game for their industry and with their competitors, but the devices they create are changing the game for other industries as businesses look to leverage and incorporate Apple’s technology moving forward. As you look at your business, how you work with your clients, and how you deliver your products and services, what have you done in the past two years to change the game? Ultimately every industry evolves. You get to choose whether or not you are the one driving that change.
Organizations that want to be relevant in their industry realize that they are responsible to be the ones changing the game. Accountable business leaders know that they must be on a constant search for ways to improve what they do. Maybe it’s time to evaluate all of your operational systems. Those systems would include sales, customer service, order processing, delivery, billing and all of the ways that your clients reach you either by phone, mail or the Internet. We must be constantly removing everything in the customer experience that gets in the way. At the same time, we must be looking for ways to enhance that experience and make it easier for our clients to do business with us.
Another way we can change the game is to incorporate other organization’s technology into our business practice. For example, you could create an app for the iPad that enhances the customer experience for your clients. Banks are offering iPhone apps that allow their clients to check balances, transfer funds from one account to another and pay bills right from their phone.
You could utilize technology to drastically overhaul your distribution system. You could create new products and new services that extend beyond what you have offered before. You could back up those products and services with warrantees that changed the face of your industry. You get the idea. It’s about innovation. It’s about thinking beyond what you’ve done in the past. Real game changers don’t just look for evolution they look for revolution.
Take the time to look at your business. Challenge your management team and encourage the people on the front line. Develop leaders who seek to be game changers. Drive innovation within your organization. Constantly be looking for ways to change the game and you will be more accountable for the success of your business.
