Some management professionals are unwilling or fearful of focusing on their tasks on hand. This often arises due to the pressures or comforts of multi-tasking. The person has to take a call on strategic matters and see where things stand. Each activity’s revenue clock needs to be fixed. The focus must be on the end-user. Also one has to conduct business analysis on the operational efficiency or the lack of it that the actions are causing. All this has to be aligned with brand equity. It has often been suggested that a ‘good idea box’ be implemented in organizations so employees may jot down their ideas.

The world of learning and development is undergoing major change. Knowledge is now seen as an enabler towards other more tangible end results and not just as an altruistic end in itself. Physical products are instead losing their value. Corporate training is now increasingly being worked on with a particular pedagogy in place. Newer trends are emerging such as open learning and the rise of the Executive MBA is one such example. Learning is now being customized for the end user and being linked with measurable business results. The help of business consulting is being increasingly sought after to measure effectiveness of learning modules.

Japan is a country which as per recommendations from tourism consulting agencies, is expecting a windfall of more than twenty million inbound tourists in the year 2020 when Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games. However, costs are extremely high and thus hoteliers have come up with a business innovation to ride them this shortfall. They are converting defunct and in some cases even extant office complexes into temporary tourist accommodations. These typically charge much less than conventional hotels.

According to a management consulting publication, business innovation must be wedded into the culture of the firm instead of heavy focus on incomes. Employees at the firm must be made aware of the importance that the concept of innovation has in the context of the industry. Even the final achievement targets and performance reviews must include innovation as one of the major factors to gauge effectiveness. Some instances where innovations worked in the firm must be built upon as example of success.

Talent management has been identified as one of the best ways to ensure employee retention. The likes of Facebook, Apple, Netflix and IBM are especially doing a commendable job. Nurturing talent helps in building diversity among the workforce in the organization especially with regards to gender balance. This will also enable firms develop competitive advantage over competitors as greater proportion of freelance female employees leads to reductions in overhead costs where BRICS and MINT nations are already threatening global market share.

In order to enable business innovation within the firm, certain Cs have been identified which must be followed. The core competency of the business must be identified and work done accordingly. A system of continuous learning via corporate training must be embedded within the system. The team members must have this zeal towards co-creation and collaboration at workplace. While innovators are credited and copycats are often frowned upon, it is the latter who often scale the service and make it usable for mass audiences and thus they too are required within the ecosystem. The innovation methodology must also incorporate partners in other countries who provide other cultural aspects to the practice.

CIOs are no longer just a part of the team, but rather crucial in formulating the corporate strategy. Among their important tasks is to enable business leaders grasp digital technology. Business research has found some ways this may be done. A digital advisory board comprising of internal and external experts must be created to advice them. Examples from similar industries must be used to map the digital future. It personnel must be placed at various positions in the firm so that on the job corporate training can take place in this way. Rather the training and development wing must work closely with the CIO. Communication within the firm must be a business language understandable to all and not geeky tech stuff. Top business leaders within the firm must be taken into confidence. A coaching framework must be developed with KPIs based on the digital side for managers’ reviews. For particular trends, company staff must be exposed formally to outside personnel.