Personally, I appreciate the positive, psychological shift of putting the past year behind us. I am also encouraged to see more signs of confidence as CEOs look beyond the still uncertain marketplace—albeit cautiously—to focus on the longer-term, strategic decisions that will help position their organizations for high performance.
Innovation has never been more important to CEOs, who are thinking creatively about capturing market share, reducing costs and just plain being better at operating in this environment. And innovation certainly has never been more important to what we do at Accenture as we help our clients make bold and swift moves to adjust to the new business reality.
In this issue of Outlook, you will find new perspectives on the topic of innovation. The cover story—“Innovation: Why less is the new more”—offers compelling examples of how leading organizations are weaving the innovation process into the early development of lower-cost products and services.
The authors highlight some best practices from what Accenture calls cost-driven innovation, a fascinating trend aimed directly at tighter consumer budgets—and one that is yielding profitable results.
Another article, “A matter of focus,” shares results from new Accenture research in Europe on the connection between innovation and high performance. An analysis of more than 200 companies found that the most important mark of successful innovators—both leaders and followers—is a clear and focused, industry-specific strategy and the ability to carry it out with precision.
Clearly, innovation will play a critical role as the economy continues to re-set and new opportunities come into focus. I hope the insights in this Outlook are relevant in shaping your innovation strategy.
Wishing you all the best in the year to come. Here’s to a fresh start.
About the author
William D. Green, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Accenture
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