~ Contributed by Bill Marriott ~

Here we are at the beginning of a New Year. By now most of you have made and a few of you have already broken your personal New Year’s Resolutions. For many of you, this is going to be the year you’re going to lose that extra weight or you’re going to get into shape. Some have vowed to spend more time with loved ones and some of you are finally going to quit smoking.

I wish you all good luck in these personal endeavors. But, what about your business? Have you made resolutions for how you intend to make 2009 a better year for your business, your employees, your customers and your stakeholders?

Admittedly, we are facing some of the toughest times in business since the Great Depression. The economy is way down, spending is down, credit is tight, and GDPs are setting record lows. The year ahead is uncertain at best. So, the natural inclination is to pull back, delay or cancel projects, consolidate or downsize workforces and basically resort to good old fashioned belt tightening. It makes sense...or does it?

You can hear my answer to this important question by listening to the editorial at BetterManagement Today.) We all know that the best time to buy stocks is when the markets are down. Likewise, down times have historically created the best opportunities for innovation and advances. It was during Chrysler Corporation’s darkest hours when the idea of the Mini-Van emerged to not only save the day for Chrysler, but it revolutionized the automotive industry in the process. And it’s no coincidence that some of the biggest advances in the internet and e-commerce emerged during economic downturns. Just as adversity builds character, down times seem to ignite innovation.

So if your business resolutions for 2009 focus solely on belt tightening and spending cuts, you might want to rethink your strategy and focus your efforts on innovation. Consider the fact that some estimates say that up to 70percent of all products on the market today will become obsolete in the next 5 years. Can you afford to hibernate when times get tough? Although economic prudence makes sense, tightening the belt on R&D and Innovation in recessionary times is the wrong thing to do.

So how do you make innovation happen? Innovation is usually the result of methodical planning, not serendipity. First of all, you’ve got to plan to allocate some your workforce’s productive time toward the innovation goal. Set measurable goals and objectives for divisions, departments and for individuals around innovation.

Optimize becomes a key word in your strategy. Look for opportunities to optimize your processes, your expenses, your revenues, your people and your customers. This is a great time to obtain and really understand the valuable data that’s at your disposal. Use your company data as well as third party data to truly get to know and understand your customers and prospects, your employees, your products and pricing and your processes. Chances are this data already exists in your organization. And in many cases, all you need to do is to ask for it and you’ll receive it.

Once you have this data, you can use predictive analytics to determine where innovation makes sense for your organization. The pharmaceutical industry has been very successful over the years in using predictive analytics to determine which new compounds and drugs are most likely to be successful before they invest in developing them. Likewise, you can use analytics to determine which innovative projects and programs have the highest likelihood of being successful. In other words, which ones will deliver the highest ROI or Return on Innovation?

A wise man once said, "Fish where the fish are." So look to innovate in areas where there’s likely to be future interest. For example, the share of venture capital investment in IT, software and telecommunications has fallen considerably. In turn, a higher share of investment is going into start-ups focusing on medicine, bio-technology and most of all, energy. Look for ways to evolve your business to tap into areas that are likely to grow in the coming years.

So if you’re a CEO or a Senior decision maker, 2009 can be your year to shine. As the CEO or a business leader, it’s not only your opportunity, but it’s your responsibility to drive the Innovation agenda. And this is the right time to act on that responsibility. In academics, the old saying goes, “Publish or Perish,” and in today’s business climate it’s, “Innovate or Perish.” Good luck with your 2009 resolutions and on behalf of the entire organization here at BetterManagement, let me wish you and yours all the best for a happy, healthy and very innovative and prosperous New Year.