How Business Leaders Foster Innovation And Technology to Boost Performance
By Martha Pierson Martha Pierson is a marketing strategist with over a decade of experience helping businesses grow. As a Finturf blog contributor, she shares actionable tips and expert insights to empower entrepreneurs and drive business success.
Business performance is driven by different factors, varying from country to country depending on economic conditions, culture, and industrial assessment. Meanwhile, innovation and technologies remain key factors that impact businesses from different fields and located in various corners of the world.
Whether you’re a solopreneur just starting your business, a small business owner searching for ways to boost revenue, or a business leader in a larger corporation who wants to beat the competition, innovation and technology can help you significantly boost performance and achieve key business objectives.
How Are Innovation, Technology, and Business Performance Connected?
Innovation, technology, and business performance are tightly connected with their dynamic interplay, serving as a power to fuel the global business environment.
Innovation is the introduction and application of new ideas and methods that result in the development of new products and services or the optimization of existing ones. It is the catalyst for development, sparking the initial idea for the change.
Business innovation includes the process of finding new solutions to existing problems that can significantly enhance the profitability and success of the organization.
Technology is the practical use of scientific knowledge, when new tools and systems are developed by applying data analysis, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Business performance is how successfully a company meets its business goals securing stable growth.
Innovation and technology help businesses boost performance by impacting all spheres, including customer experience, costs, and overall operational efficiency. In turn, improved business performance allows companies to further invest in technological innovation. Innovation, technology and business form the cycle of growth and constant development.
Trends and Technologies Business Leaders Can Use to Boost Business Performance
In recent years, technological trends have been driving businesses of all sizes to uncharted horizons. A notable example is Tesla with its innovative approach and use of data analytics and AI to revolutionize the electric vehicle industry. Innovative technologies help companies grow in a wide range of spheres, from banking to eCommerce, aerospace, and more!
In short, the key to staying competitive and keeping a leading edge for business leaders is to keep up with the latest technologies.
Here are some innovative technologies that improve operations and boost overall business performance.
Cloud-Based Technologies
Cloud-based technologies store data on the internet instead of hardware, allowing users to access software, documents, and storage using an internet connection directly from their mobile devices, laptops, computers, or wearable devices like smartwatches.
Cloud-based technologies are easy to use and cost-saving. Some of the well-known cloud-based technologies used by business leaders worldwide include Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Slack, Zoom, and similar.
These technologies offer access to business data from any location, recover lost data, enhance customer support, and more, ensuring all stakeholders stay aligned with real-time data, gaining full visibility into actions and timing across the organization.
Point of Sale (POS) Financing
Point of Sale (POS) financing lets businesses offer financing to customers/clients by providing flexible payment solutions directly at the point of purchase, in-store or online. This approach allows transactions without relying on traditional payment methods (credit cards or cash), enabling customers to access installment payments or loans. POS financing solutions not only enhance the purchasing power of customers but also assist business leaders in integrating smarter business strategies, increasing sales, and encouraging customer loyalty.
POS financing options are an integral part of eCommerce websites, making high-priced items accessible to broader customer segments on the one hand and helping businesses boost conversions on the other.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning serve as a goldmine for business leaders allowing them to make more data-driven decisions, develop hyper-personalized marketing strategies, predict supply and demand, effectively maintain inventory, detect potential fraud, and more.
The most successful businesses globally use AI and machine learning technologies. One example is MasterCard, which effectively uses AI and machine learning algorithms to identify and prevent fraudulent activities that may affect customers.
Project Management Tools
Project management tools are software applications that help business leaders and teams manage projects from defining the scope to evaluating the performance.
Project management tools like Trello, Basecamp, Clickup, or Asana are proven to enhance performance from small businesses to large enterprises. Providing functions essential for business operations, including document sharing, data analytics, reporting, etc., these tools reduce time and effort spent on manual tasks, allowing teams to concentrate on more strategic areas of business.
eCommerce Platforms
The expansion of eCommerce platforms in recent years has made the online transaction of services and products simpler and more accessible.
Famous eCommerce platforms such as Shopify, Woocommerce, and others provide integrated solutions to businesses, enabling them to set up and effectively manage sales modules and inventories. Running a full-featured online store using an eCommerce platform often proves to be more cost-effective than maintaining a physical store, requiring additional expenses for rent, furnishing, in-store personnel, and more.
What’s more, consumers prefer online shopping to visiting physical stores. Research shows that 90% of the consumers in the US rely on eCommerce for shopping.
Challenges Business Leaders Face When Adopting Innovative Technologies
Businesses unlock numerous benefits that improve business efficiency through the adoption of innovative technologies. However, every innovation presents a set of issues and challenges for the given generation of business leaders.
In the post-COVID-19 era, leaders are experiencing a shift in leadership models, rapid changes in workforce and technologies, accelerated expansion of AI technologies across industries, and similar.
In the post-COVID-19 era, leaders face challenges related to the shift in leadership models, rapid changes in workforce and technologies, and accelerated expansion of AI technologies across industries. Economic pressures, such as different types of inflation and signs of a potential slowdown, also add complexity to strategic decision-making.
Here are some of the most common challenges:
Rapidly Changing Technologies
Technologies change at a rapid pace, requiring businesses to frequently update infrastructure and resources. Focusing on flexibility, performing regular market assessments, and investing in technology with a long-term perspective can help business leaders overcome this challenge.
Impact of Tech on Human Jobs
Recent innovative technologies, particularly machine learning and AI-based tools, have reshaped job roles, leading to the rise of the “people replaced by technology” trend. For example, this shift is evident in the customer support sector, where chatbots partially (or completely, in some cases) replace customer support agents.
As a result, business leaders face the challenge of determining when human interaction works better than AI. Supporting employees in getting the necessary skills to use AI tools and finding the optimal balance between AI and human interaction can help business leaders avoid replacing people with technologies and boost overall business performance.
Changes in Leadership Models
The integration of innovative technologies has led to changes in the leadership models. Businesses experience a shift from individual leadership to network leadership which is more about mentoring, leading, and empowering teams.
Business leaders who focus on trust and transparency, and reject micromanagement approaches are developing mutually beneficial strategies for the business and employees, improving business performance. PWC’s 2024 Trust Survey has revealed that 93% of business executives agree that building trust results in better business results.
The Future of Leadership, Innovation, and Technology
In the world of innovation and technology, the only constant is change, making precise predictions nearly impossible. One thing is clear: complicated times call for great leadership. Thus, focusing on the adoption of the most effective innovations for business growth is imperative for leaders.
By analyzing current patterns, we can assume that the future of leadership, innovation, and technology will be based on flexibility and inclusivity. Innovation will keep being driven by AI, machine learning, and other technological advancements making business leaders keep track of all the transformations to make data-driven decisions and boost business performance.
Conclusion
The preferences and requirements of consumers are constantly transforming. Perhaps being adaptable and constantly investing in new technologies is the only way to keep modern customers happy and meet their frequently changing needs.
That’s where business leaders play a significant role in boosting business performance through innovation and technology. Leaders who demonstrate flexibility and recognize the benefits of innovation, create business environments where growth is constant.
