Grow Your Business and Leadership with Constant Iteration, Occasional Innovation

We hear a lot about the need to be highly innovative and introducing new concepts to keep pace in today’s world. However, is that really the best approach? Staying fresh, connected, and ahead of the curve is important for many businesses. This applies to leadership as well. Our teams and the make-up thereof continues to evolve, for sure, but what is required to ensure you stay on top of your game?

Technology companies are most associated with innovation, but there are many great examples that show iteration being what they really do versus innovation. Take Apple, for example; they revolutionized the cell phone industry with the innovation of the device into what we know as the iPhone. In plenty of ways, more than fifteen years later, the iPhone is more an iteration of the original launch product than a truly new innovation. They do occasionally update the look and feel, so we’ll call that innovation. But it is a perfect example of how Apple uses constant iteration (yearly updates with new features of the same base product), and occasional innovation (design change, huge steps forward with new technology).

Let’s look at the definition of these two things, iteration and innovation.

Iteration - noun - it·​er·​a·​tion, i-tə-ˈrā-shən

a procedure in which repetition of a sequence of operations yields results successively closer to a desired result

Although iteration is a well-known part of the product development process, many businesses forget that continuous iteration is how a product remains great. 1

Innovation - noun - in·​no·​va·​tion ˌi-nə-ˈvā-shən

1: a new idea, method, or device : NOVELTY

2: the introduction of something new

There are some similarities, but generally, you can see the difference. Once builds upon something that already exists, working to make it better and closer to the desired result. The other is a truly new idea. I immediately connect that with leadership as well. We are all a work in progress. Most of us are iterating our style, based on new knowledge and experience. We are working to get to our desired result (of who we are and how we lead). Occasionally, we’ll try something brand new. That could be a new job, in a different industry, or announcing that you will be taking an entirely new approach to how you lead your team. (This would seem to only be in an extreme case, where you needed a sweeping change based on a different business model).

Other examples

Uber

How do you think of Uber as a company? Are they an innovator? They are widely seen as a great iteration company. The initial concept of on-demand transport service was highly innovative when it launched. Interesting enough, most of the technology they used at the beginning was already available, just not used together as Uber did. From that point, they have continued to hone the process for using the service, growing into a huge success, and loved service across the globe. What started as a better way to get a taxi in big US cities has turned into a worldwide convenience.

The majority of their growth has come from fine-tuning the applications and process used for the same basic service that was offered at the start. You could argue, as they have grown beyond just transporting people, that is innovation. However, you could argue that expansion into food delivery and small parcel items is an extension of the same process — the need to get something (or someone) from point A to point B as quickly as possible.

Ritz-Carlton

Can a luxury hotel company be innovative or iterative? Talk about an industry that seems like it works essentially the same way anywhere you go. The Ritz-Carlton has done both, and continues to do so. Much of the iteration comes in the way they create the experience for customers. It is driven through their culture of listening to their ‘ladies and gentlemen’.2 Through feedback, they are continually improving the experience that guests have across their locations.

They have also been known to innovate. Ritz-Carlton was at the forefront of digital keys and blending technology with experience. Based on their values, Ritz-Carlton is not trying to replace any key human interactions with technology. Instead, they look for ways to use technology in new ways to enhance the experience. The check in experience can be very different when you have already completed the majority of the information online or through the app ahead of time. Or perhaps you need the convenience of ordering room service or poolside service from your phone quickly. Wait…those sound like something everyone has. Correct. Especially in the era of the pandemic. So what’s the big deal? Ritz had these in place by 2016 in its hotels. They have continued to build on that since, and most other hotels have incorporated elements of this innovation into their experience as well.

So what can you do to continually iterate on your business or your development? There are some basic steps you can follow for iteration.

Plan

What do you want to improve upon? Why? How are you going to gather that information? Can you learn from your team? They are always interacting with your customers, or you. Who better to learn from? Your plan should use those insights on how to approach regular improvements.

Analyze

Review the data frequently. This can be formal or informal, but you need to get a read on what is happening and how you can improve upon that.

Implement and Test

Move quickly to get the updated processes in place, whether these are business process you are using or how you personally approach something. Get started to gather more information and data. Iteration is about moving quickly, not seeking perfection or the final, finished product. Think of this as your testing phase. Get moving and find out what happens.

Evaluate/Review

Gather the data, so you can evaluate and understand what the feedback or results are. What is expected? What is really happening? Where are the deltas between the two? WIth that information, you can continue to expand your testing, or begin to move on to the next iteration.

Benefits

The benefits of working with iterations come in many forms. The process itself allows for making quick changes and updates. This allows you to stay nimble and current with an ever-changing world. Plus, you are not starting from scratch every time. You already have a foundation from which to build. This can make it much easier on your team as well. It will not feel like you are constantly changing everything. Iteration allows you to keep the good portion, help things feel familiar, while then making adjustments for improvement. Finally, iterating lowers the risk and cost since you are leveraging parts of what you already have in place.

Looking at both iteration and innovation is a great example of an ‘and’ strategy versus an ‘or’ strategy. Both have their place and are necessary. You can only iterate so far before you will need something new. No one can afford to stand still. And few can afford to continually create new from nothing. Don’t let the notion of always innovating fool you into believing that is the necessary approach. Continual iteration, and occasional innovation can be an excellent approach to growing your business as well as your personal leadership style.

How can you blend the continual iteration and occasional innovation approach into your life?

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Photo by Matt Ridley on Unsplash

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1 https://www.eno8.com/blog/the-importance-of-continuous-iteration-in-product-development/

2 At Ritz Carlton, they refer to their employees as Ladies and Gentlemen.