Recession Sparks Innovation and New Product Development

At a recent San Francisco conference, John Doerr, one of America’s most famous venture capitalist called the recession “the greatest economic opportunity of our lifetime.”

Drastic changes create great opportunities for those with vision and grit. Whether its developing a totally new industry, solving a problem that’s plagued mankind for centuries or decades, or developing a business model that blows your competitors right into the annals of history – this is the time of change that welcomes innovators and inventors.

This is the time when the status quo is challenged. Our transportation industry is undergoing massive challenges that threaten the very survival of household names. More efficient fuel burning systems are being developed at the same time that alternative energy vehicles – such as electric, natural gas and bio-fuels are being developed. This industry is ripe for the type of innovation and new product development that has led the world from one type of economy to another (agrarian based to industrial based to information based).

The energy industry is being turned upside down. We all remember the ultra-high gas costs of a few months ago. The crisis spurred a renewed interest in alternative energy including solar, wind and wave technologies.

Concerns about the environment are forcing several industries, including both the transportation and the energy industries, to name a few, to look at ways that they operate and provide goods and services to their customers. The “green” economy is more than just a buzzword. It will bring innovation and new product development to everything that we do – from the way that will construct new buildings and facilities to the way that we dispose of all of our waste. It will impact the entire supply chain.

There is no doubt that the changing economic landscape will force businesses to explore the full advantage of the technological tools that they have been playing with for years. Too many of our businesses – large and small – operate the same basic way that they did in the 1980s or earlier.

There are so many tools, such as Blackberry, online meetings, Google apps, etc… that allow a business to get more productivity out of its team members. These tools really shine when they allow the team members to work from remote locations. Technology allows teams to work on different continents and accomplish more than if they were in the same office.

Changing a business model to exploit these tools may be enough to move the income statement from red to black and the balance sheet from weak and full of debt to strong and relatively debt free. This may help your business thrive in a recession. The way the world works is definitely going to change as a result of this economic upheaval.

We live in a unique time of rapid societal change. We are entering an era where globalization is the norm and regionalization and localization are coming en vogue. We have new national leadership that signals a handing off of the baton of power from one generation to another. We have economic challenges the likes of which have not been seen since before the first baby boomer was born. This change has created a chaotic storm and innovation and new product development is the ship that will steer us to safety.