Grab More Market Share: How to Wrangle Business Away from Lazy Competitors

Trends Never Sneak Up On Anybody

I want to walk you through this, not to be condescending, but to make sure you know exactly what you're looking for. You have to stay relevant, to still matter to your customers and coworkers, or you run the risk of becoming extinct. At that point, nobody will care. Staying relevant only happens when you continue to innovate. The logic of staying relevant through innovation is so important I want to burn that credo into your working subconscious. Innovation is your baseline for grabbing market share away from your competition.

Q: How do I know what to innovate?

A: You pay attention to the culture.

Q: What do I innovate?

A: The culture will tell you. Actually, they will scream it at you.

Q: When do I pay attention to the culture?

A: Every day.

Q: What am I looking for?

A: Trends.

Q: What is a trend?

A: A trend is a new way of thinking that captures the public's consciousness.

Q: What is a definition of public consciousness?

A: It's when a lot of people start changing their habits all at once.

Q: How will we know when the public consciousness has caused a habit change?

A: You will see news stories on TV or the web. You'll hear your friends talk about it on Facebook. Your children will tell you. You'll read about it in your magazines. Celebrities will start talking about it.

Organizations love to overthink strategy and tactics; however, innovation does not require a complicated formula. At the core of your success, you must accept that if you ignore ...