In an environment as competitive as the one we find ourselves in, the innovative capacity of companies is essential. Only companies that guide their strategies towards innovation can be competitive and maintain their position in the market.
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Seven Things You Should NOT Do If You Want Your Project To Succeed
Failure To Protect Innovation
All innovation can be legally protected through a form of industrial protection that ensures that inventors have absolute control over the commercial use of their invention, excluding third parties from the appropriation of knowledge that they have created. The protection of innovation can prevent that when the product’s launch is about to start, it has to be abandoned because someone else has legal rights to the brand.
Start a Project Without Prior Planning.
You can have a great idea, but the project is doomed if it’s poorly executed. An incorrect budget, an inappropriate assignment of roles or a lack of resources can change the project’s direction. For this reason, it is very important to carry out complete planning of the budget, taking into account the resources, the scope, the agents involved, the duration and the schedule of the project.
Focusing on An Idea Without Analyzing The Environment
It may seem to you that your idea is innovative and disruptive and that you have no doubts about its success, but all of the above is not enough for the project’s success. We can have a project that a priori is perfect for us, but is there something similar on the market? What is the added value of our product/service? How is it different from the rest? Who is our target audience? Do our consumers need our product or service? Before starting, it is necessary to carry out an extensive market study to study all the variables that can affect the progress of the business.
Being Afraid of Making Mistakes
We must bear in mind that, on many occasions, trial and error is the best way that many companies have to consolidate and be profitable. Have you heard of the LEAN methodology? It is possible that the vision we had of the product does not have to be the one demanded by the market. The lean startup method uses the idea of a “minimum viable product”, a version of the product that allows us to get the most information from the users with the minimum available resources and as fast as possible. Two similar products can be launched to see which one best suits the demand.
I Do Not Have An Economic-Financial Plan.
Although we are at the beginning of the project and have not made the first sale, this will not be an obstacle to working with an economic-financial plan. It is clear that, in the beginning, we will only have forecasts and estimates, but that will not be a problem. We will change them and adapt them to real figures produced. The important thing is to have a clear goal and work with a guide that shows us if expectations are being met and how far we are from achieving profit. Working from the beginning of the project with an economic document will help us to know its evolution and to be able to make business decisions.
You Were Not Surrounding Yourself With a Good Team.
One of the main reasons startups fail is the wrong choice of partners. The ideal is to surround yourself with a multidisciplinary team with different profiles. Perhaps the person who will complement us will do so because they are specialized in areas different from ours and can add value that we cannot add. You can be the best at something, but it is impossible to be at everything. Surround yourself with a multidisciplinary team with complementary profiles. Remember: “If you want to go fast, walk alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Combine The Project With Other Responsibilities
When we work on different activities, we risk becoming scattered. To achieve project success, we must focus all our energy, time, and strategies on one goal. Focusing on a project is essential and, above all, in the beginning, when there are many tasks to start up the project.
Also Read: Five Common Financial Mistakes In Business Administration
