Running a different race

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Henry Ford

Consensus among professionals can be difficult to achieve but on two issues there is widespread unanimity – the business world in which we operate has fundamentally changed and the pace of change will continue to accelerate as a world emerging slowly from recession intersects with increasingly deregulated professions, new entrants and fierce inter-firm competition.

Faced with such challenges, it would be easy to focus wholly on improving the efficiency of the current operating model. This is about running the same race, only faster. Improved efficiency is necessary but not sufficient, the benefits will generally be transient as others improve their own processes and the market price spirals downwards.

What is needed is an investment in innovation and a redefined sense of strategic direction. By running a different race those who succeed will create distinct, valuable service propositions which are difficult to emulate and deliver a sustainable profit advantage.