Innovation at its Best

innovation: a new way of doing things which results in positive change and makes life better!

March 27th marked the 30th anniversary for Rainbow International and the Dwyer Group. What an achievement! The only way a company can thrive and not just survive for 30 years is due to being innovative. Hats off to Dwyer associates, franchisees, master licensees, and our customers for your contribution to our combined success.

As I reflect back over the 30 years, one of the greatest habits I was taught by our late founder, Don Dwyer, was to be constantly learning. His favorite method for learning was to listen to tape programs/audio books. I have carried on this habit. One of the recent audio books that I listened to was, Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs by Carmine Gallo. The book shared Steve Jobs’ principles of leadership.

Principle number one - do what you love - following your heart can make all the difference.

2) Put a dent in the universe - surround yourself with like-minded people that relate to your vision and turn ideas into world changing innovations.

3) Kick start your brain - innovation does not exist without creativity.

4) Sell dreams not products - to Steve Jobs people who buy Apple products are not consumers. They’re people with dreams, hopes, and ambitions. He wants to build products to help them achieve their dreams.

5) Say no to 1000 things - simplicity is key. Innovation means you got to eliminate the unnecessary so the necessary can speak.

6) Create insanely great experiences - Apple stores are the gold standard in customer service because they introduce simple innovations that make deep, lasting, emotional ties with the customer.

7) Master the message - Steve Jobs knows how to tell a product story in an art form.

I was listening to this audio book one morning while getting ready for work. A morning in which I happened to have developed a sore throat through the night. I was heading out of town the next day and had a large action list to achieve and I didn't want to interrupt my day with a doctor's visit.

I asked myself, "what would Steve Jobs do to be innovative at a time like this"? My first thought was, I'll take a picture of my throat with my IPhone. It's got a great flash and I'll e-mail it to the doctor’s office. I must admit that I was feeling a bit giddy about my innovative thought and it took courage to press the send button. By the way, the picture was unbelievably clear.

At 6:11 AM I e-mailed the photo to my doctor’s office with a request that he please take a look and let me know if he was able to diagnose my problem. By 8:20 AM, I received an e-mail from his office acknowledging receipt of the message and by 10:14 AM, the nurse called to say that it appeared I had an infection and the doctor was prescribing an antibiotic. Wow!!! It's amazing how technology is changing our world.

I'd like to challenge all of you to look for new ways that we can conduct business that results in a positive change that makes life better for all. Let's gear up for another 30 years of thriving!

PS-thanks to see Steve Jobs and Apple for making it possible for me to take a quality photo with my Apple IPhone and to jar my creative juices with his book.

I think I'll tweet about this :)