Leadership Unlimited is a career column by Terry Wall, MBA '97. Terry is a recognized expert on strategy, leadership, and productivity, who will share his experiences and tips each month.

Alumni are encouraged to send comments, questions or suggestions for future column topics to alumni@drexel.edu.

3 Trends, 4 Questions for Developing Innovative Strategies
February 2012

How do you develop innovative strategies that secure your position and success in the market place?

You look at trends, and then ask questions about how those trends, projected into the future, could affect your business.

Many types of trends comprise the landscape, including politics, geography, and the world order, just to name a few. Here are three you might consider.

• Demographics: The next decade promises massive growth of the senior population. And, people are relocating much less than before.
  
  
• Technology: Mobile technology, and the blending of multiple technologies for retrieving or disseminating information.
  
  
• Society: In 1960, 72% of all adults ages 18 and older were married; today just 51% are. (I'm in trouble if for Valentine's Day my wife signs me up for eharmony.com.)

Those are just three categories of trends. And I've identified only one or two trends in each category. But you get the idea. You have to determine which trends affect your business.

After looking at a trend, you ask 4 questions: 1) What affect will this have on the products and services I produce? 2) What affect will it have on how I deliver those products and services? 3) What products and services should I develop for the future? 4) What markets should I target?

Let's look at two examples.

Large, international company: After looking at many global trends, an international company is introducing a new product this year. It's been in the works for several years, and they've invested millions of dollars in this product. It's a bold move in an innovative strategy, and they realize the risks involved.

But the global landscape, and the changing trends that will influence that landscape, require a bold move if they want to maintain the top position in a very competitive industry.

Small Business: My friend Tom Falco is in the residential construction industry. He scanned the industry landscape, and saw that people aren't buying new houses because they can't sell their existing homes because of falling home prices.

Or they don't have money to buy a new house. Others, because of the shaky, uncertain economy, don't feel comfortable taking the risk of buying a new house. Regardless of why, they're not buying new homes. That's the trend.

So Tom asked himself, "What can I do to get more business?" He decided to focus on home improvement, and found that people who can't move at least want to improve the house they're in.

Tom now focuses on remodeling existing houses—installing new windows, putting that new roof on, or building a new addition, of finishing that basement. It's not the same as building new houses, but it will do until the industry picks up.

Look at trends and then ask the right questions. What trends are you looking at? What innovative strategies will you use to take advantage of those trends?

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About the Author Terry Wall, MBA '97, accelerates success for individuals and organizations. For individuals, he accelerates success through coaching. For organizations, he accelerates success by building winning teams, working with management teams in groups. Either way, Terry teaches people how to improve how they manage and lead, so that they and their direct reports are more engaged in their work, more committed to organizational goals, and more productive in what they do. That accelerates success. That improves profitability. Terry specializes in strategic planning, leadership development, change management, corporate culture, and productivity improvement. He works in a wide range of industries, including service and manufacturing, non-profit, and large and small organizations. He is a skilled facilitator who provides coaching on individual, executive, or team levels. A recognized expert on strategy, leadership, and productivity, Terry has a B.A. in psychology from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, and an MBA from Drexel University in Philadelphia. He is a professional speaker, and a professional writer who coauthored a book on teambuilding, and has been published in many publications. Terry Wall accelerates success, and improves profitability, for individuals, teams, and organizations.

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