Recession - Best time for innovation

The best time to innovate

Very soon in the future the idiom “Necessity is the mother of Invention” will reflect a different meaning on to our minds. With recession, the companies have started relying heavily on cost cutting, tighter time schedules, faster deliveries, efficient utilization of resources and the most important- innovation. Due to this recession, innovation has to bloom in every sector for the sake of its own good. Improved and smarter ways of working are seen at bringing new Innovative Ideas to industry where you can raise the margins and hence lower the operating cost. History is proof of the fact that many of the world’s enduring, multibillion-dollar corporations, from Disney to Microsoft, was founded during economic downturns decades back. The operating costs tend to be cheaper during a recession and talent is easier to find because of huge layoffs and dissatisfaction prevailing among the distressed employees. So naturally it’s a lot easier to find a more talented resource at a relatively lower cost. Also the competition is usually not so fierce because many players are taken out of the game. Recessions could also help executives put on their thinking caps to figure out how to improve products, services, and processes internally and for customers. Ideally, the creative thinking that’s needed to weather the storm of an economic downturn can lead to new markets and revenue streams. HCL recently partnered with Xerox to provide tech support for corporate customers using Xerox systems meant to reduce the amount of wasted paper. Those XEROX systems themselves were inspired by the dual challenges of helping to save the environment and the need to slash office expenses during the downturn. Inventing cost-effective and time-saving processes becomes a priority in a downturn, and it’s an area of interest for companies and organizations in a variety of fields, from high tech to health care. In a recession one has to innovate to be more efficient. Most of the Mergers and Acquisitions are triggered during the period of recession and though multi-billionaire companies can go bankrupt in months, there are always new owners to overhaul the system. The fall of giants like Sun Microsystems, Nortel are the best examples. Though they fall for bad, innovation-driven Big Fish eats them and keep them in a safer zone. Effectiveness of cost is the main driving factor for any type of merger. The market being down, recession is the best time to find a good bargain for the bidder, immaterial of the financial state of the company on radar. There are some companies which are always left Recession-Proof. One of the best example can be Apple Inc. Apple’s quarterly profits jumped 15% this year. With the sales for Mac, iPhone soaring, Apple once again proved the key to survive in recession is innovation. innovation at technology, flashy gadgets, quality and a unique way of presentation of their products. Smart companies will continue to apply the innovation lessons learned during today’s tough times even when things pick up. The innovative processes, products, and services can help executives understand how to curb costs or take risks on fresh ideas when the economy rebounds. innovation is about companies finding creative ways to come up with new products and services faster and more efficiently—with fewer resources. Industry must look at the current recession with a positive perspective to rethink how to approach innovation tactics even as Research & Development budgets have been slashed. Smart companies like Apple & Google are finding inventive ways of keeping employees motivated and creative even when morale is low. It’s time to look into the benefits of outsourcing innovation in areas ranging from industrial design to corporate strategy. All these strategies will certainly help us to prove that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.