#ThinkForward and #DriveChange: The Fourth Stage of Innovation and Crisis Response

The greatest leaders, such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Nikola Tesla, all possessed the key capability that distinguished them from the rest; they innovated. If you have been following this series diligently and working on your own ideas along the way, then you are ready for stage four. 

The Fourth Stage

In the framework of your Crisis Response plan, the fourth stage is implementation.  In this stage, your focus is on the process of setting up the foundations, structures, and gathering the resources needed to produce and maintain your innovative idea. This area of your crisis response plan encompasses both the fourth and fifth stages of innovation: Commercialization along with Implementation and Diffusion. While it may seem a bit unorthodox to combine two stages of innovation into this single section, each of these processes works together.

Commercialization

Commercialization focuses on the impacts of your idea on your targeted audience. This is the fundamental part of the process where you should be looking toward your customers and verifying if the idea you came up with will help them solve their problems.  When going through this stage, think of it as searching for advocacy. Find people who will appreciate the innovative idea, and if there are more supporters on your side than not, then you could have a great foundation to create market value. After all, without user approval, an idea will generally not work out very well in generating revenue.

Implementation & Diffusion

The sisters to commercialization are implementation and diffusion. Implementation is the process of setting up the foundations, structures, and gathering the resources needed to produce and maintain your innovative idea. 

Diffusion is the process of gaining company-wide acceptance of the new solution, building that advocacy even more. Essentially, diffusion is the internal version of commercialization. This not only gets everyone on the same page and makes for seamless transitions, but it is also a new path to come up with even more creative ideas down the road, all vital stepping stones for thriving growth. 

Partnership is Key

When it comes to the COVID-19 crisis and all that comes with it, most of the ideas and innovations that are keeping businesses alive are digital optimizations. The great innovative leaders referenced in the intro of this piece, in addition to their ideas, had teams and supporters to aid in their innovations. With the rise of increasingly technological solutions, don’t be afraid to leverage alliances from a strategic technology partner. Working with professionals who specialize in technology infrastructures will optimize the opportunity for innovation to be a success.

Example | Ticketing

Let’s take a look at the ticketing industry for today’s example. As ticketed events are beginning to re-open, many people are still hesitant to go. Without a vaccine or cure in place for COVID-19, people will inevitably be gun shy when it comes to attending in-person events. Furthermore, government guidelines for the handling of re-opening ticketed locations and events provide an additional logistical challenge.

Handling System Changes

Imagine that you’re running a theater, and you’re trying to navigate the operational changes set forth in governmental re-opening guidelines and implement new contactless options for multiple facets of your business. While you have systems and software in place, they are set to fulfill capacities and operational goals in a pre-COVID world. Your existing systems need to be changed to fit the new normal and they must work with your innovative contactless technologies as well. With all that needs to be done, relying solely on your in-house team to navigate the technological changes is an overwhelming concept.

However, with a strategic technology partner on your side, the burden is lifted. As you’re allowed only to operate at 50% capacity due to CDC guidelines, your partner has quickly updated your software systems to offer only limited availability across all your distribution platforms. Each change goes by easily with their experience and skill, freeing you to focus on contactless innovation.

Bringing New Systems to Life

You’ve come up with your idea, found out the pros outweigh the cons, and experimented with the process, finding it to be valuable. You’ve reached out to your customers and found that contactless technologies are the key to making them feel comfortable coming back to your theater. With this concrete data, implementation and diffusion kick in. This is where your strategic partnership will again come into play. Your technology partner can build the framework for your contactless solutions. From digital tickets with mobile entry and scanning to touchless concessions payment to seating management and beyond – the partnership is the cornerstone for success.

While with implementation and diffusion complete, it may seem like your journey is as well, there is one key step still to come. We invite you to join us next week as we explore the recap process and the final stage of your innovative crisis response plan.   

Your Strategic Technology Partner

LockData specializes in event ticketing, software development, and web application development. Our years of experience in both Event Ticketing and API Integration have proven to propel the industry forward time and time again. When you work with LockData, you’re not just hiring a development company, you’re gaining a partner that is dedicated to and invested in your business’ success.

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