“What can I improve today?”

It’s a simple question but I can assure you that it can TOTALLY revolutionise our business.

This is indeed “innovation”.

This is indeed “continuous improvement.”

Waking up every morning giving yourself the objective that your present is better than your past, and making sure that this is your way of thinking and the way of thinking of the people that work with us. Without continuous improvement a firm is dead.

Without growth a firm does not stand still, it goes backwards.

Our objectives both as managers and as a firm therefore must always be aimed at doing “better” than yesterday.

Innovation, in the end, means improving something that already exists every day.

We not only have to give ourselves the objective of growing, but rather give ourselves the objective of being the BEST in what we do. We could say, in terms of “blue ocean strategy”: the only ones, the best, the most skilful, and the most courageous.

Let’s try and ask ourselves, while we are tackling our work, “What would the best firm in the world do in this situation?”, or “What would the best salesperson, planner, telephone operator etc. in the world do in this situation?”

Indeed, how would we define a mediocre person or a mediocre firm? A firm that always makes the same things, that does not improve, that does not set itself challenging objectives, that doesn’t believe in itself.

At times, however, it is difficult, especially in certain markets to be UNIQUE. For this reason, an EXCELLENT realisation is just as important as an excellent idea. Instead at times, a mediocre realisation of an excellent idea is less important than a “perfect” implementation of a “common” idea. Let’s think, for example, of the low cost airlines.

However, improving every day also means being ready to CHANGE every day. But if WE are not the ones SEEKING change, then it will be the change that overwhelms us. Difficult times such as those of today are a great OPPORTUNITY. In difficult times what do “mediocre” firms do? They “sit back” on what they know how to do well..they stop taking on smart people for “budget reasons”..they don’t set themselves ambitious objectives because they aim only at “not moving backwards”. It really is in these situations that we must become so good, and so ready for change that our competitors won’t be able to reach us any longer.

At times we don’t change because things seem too difficult, change frightens us.but it is really because we did not change things before that often they have become difficult.

Let’s give ourselves an objective for improvement every day, let’s ask our people to improve something every day. Let’s create projects of change and projects of improvement, let’s not wait until it is too late, let’s bring it forward.

Let’s ALL try to be entrepreneurs!

Simone Gibertoni