A favourite quote of mine is by Henry Ford – “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.” Henry Ford is credited with the rise of the automobile and has revolutionised the world we live in. He caused a disruption to the horse industry and changed how we transport people and goods.
So Henry used an engine to drag a carriage, rather than a horse, this was faster, more reliable, could carry more and could go further. So the cabin of the car itself was not really new, just the use of the engine. Even that, however, was not a new concept, Karl Benz was the creator of the first petrol vehicle years earlier. So what was Henry Fords Innovation?
Henry Ford used a moving production line to build his cars, this meant he could get more done in a shorter amount of time. Unfortunately this was nothing new either, moving production lines are recorded back to the 1100s, and were quite prolific in the industrial revolution nearly 100 years earlier.
He also used marketing and advertising to ensure that everyone talked about his cars and business, once again this was nothing new.
What Henry Ford did do is combine all of these concepts and create cars for every person. He created cars with the customer in mind first. He reduced the cost of his car almost every year for close to 20 years. The cost of a Ford Model T was as low as $14,000 in today’s dollars, which meant it was affordable to the average person, he did this whilst paying his staff well, so all the efficiency he created did not come out of his employees pockets.
So Henry Ford’s innovation, was not the car, not the moving production line, just cheap cars and looking after his staff.
If you look at recent innovations such as Uber or AirBnB it brings a low cost product that puts the convenience of the customer in mind and pays its drivers/hosts well.
So how do we need to look at innovation in advice? I can tell you it is not an App, it is not a piece of software, and it is not going to be found in any piece of technology. Efficiency can be found in all of these things, as can value, but not innovation. Innovation is found in how these can be applied to deliver a greater value to more clients. It is found when the advice process is looked at with the customer in mind rather than technology or compliance.
Any changes I make in business must first pass three filters
1. Will it deliver equal or greater value to the customer?
2. Will it equal or exceed what is required by regulation?
3. Is it beneficial to the staff or business?
Without passing these three filters, no changes take place.
Do you have a set process for assessing changes in your business?
Byron Pritchard
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