Business
Why the future belongs to smart businesses?
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owadays, businesses are not only facing a growing number of challenging working environments and tough economics, but also increasingly demanding customers. Organisations are required to make quick, intelligent choices and move with a greater sense of urgency and agility. In addition, it is essential for companies to engage in continuous innovation, both to constantly improve their business, as well as to deliver outstanding customer experiences which are superior to their competitors’ offerings. Simply put, businesses need to be smarter. In response to the Covid pandemic many organisations have undertaken digital transformation initiatives with renewed vigour. Nevertheless, simply striving for digital change is no longer enough. It is also pivotal for companies to embrace smart change if they wish to stand out from the crowd and thrive. 12
Key attributes of smart businesses For a business to become smart, it’s not just about having a greater amount of information and data readily available – but how it is actually used to think and move with greater speed and confidence. Those businesses which are smart are able to leverage their digital investments to empower and inform people in every business function and department. They also see challenges and assign accountability for customer, operational and financial success at a whole-organisation level, in addition to intelligently using their digital tools and data across the entire customer value chain. However, this doesn’t stop there, a smart business has a number of important attributes. Firstly, a smart business must embrace continuous change, constantly transitioning from one unstable environment to another, producing new service propositions
and developing smart ideas that enable it to stand out from the crowd. Ensuring that all of its departments and functions are innovative, allows the business to transform its operations and improve customer delivery in a continuous, repetitive dynamic. What’s more, these companies will also look to foster a company culture which is inquisitive and analytical – an environment in which fresh ways to elevate customer experience and improve outcomes are formed. All of this requires a workplace where creativity and experimentation is encouraged and members of staff have the freedom to operate with a can-do, growth mindset without fear of failure. But it also requires them to have the tools and the skills to ensure that these new ideas can be effectively implemented. This requires collaborative hubs where teams can openly communicate and innovate, so that suggestions can be encouraged, shared, explored, developed, tested and implemented.
