Growth and innovation are closely linked, and yet they can mean very different things to different businesses. So what’s the connection between the two, and how do mid-sized businesses successfully implement innovation and growth?
This webinar is all about growth and innovation in the real world. Freeman Clarke’s fractional technology leaders are joined by BGF investor Aaron Baker to share client stories and show how mid-market CEOs can foster a culture of innovation and use these new ideas for measurable growth.
Highlights
What innovation really means (01:43)
The panel opens by defining innovation from four angles: doing something new, solving a big problem to create value, finding better ways to serve customers, and unlocking potential by applying a solution no one else has spotted.
What’s the connection between innovation and growth? (03:52)
Growth and innovation are linked, but they’re not the same. Digging deep into what we mean by each term and how it all plays out in a mid-sized business.
Innovate where it matters, not for its own sake (09:58)
Mid-market businesses have limited time, resources, and expertise, so innovation has to be aimed at what genuinely moves the business forward.
The three innovation ‘buckets’: information, decision-making, and culture (12:51)
Aaron Baker breaks down innovation into three buckets: the right forward-looking information, the ability to make fast, reversible decisions, and (most importantly) culture.
Funding innovation in a mid-market business (22:05)
Every innovation spend needs a visible outcome at each step, much like external investment. The panel weighs investing in your own business, and why doing the innovation work yourself often creates far more value.
‘We’ve always done it that way’: the enemy of growth (28:55)
The panel explores ‘management collusion,’ where leaders avoid challenging each other’s departments, and how a non-aggression pact between managers lets the belief that ‘everything’s fine here’ quietly strangle innovation and growth.
Making it safe to fail (30:57)
Why a culture of innovation has to come from the top: the boss has to visibly lead the ‘give it a go, we’ll try something else’ mindset, because no one further down can carry that risk alone.
Transformation vs evolution vs quick wins (32:18)
The panel weighs big transformation programmes against incremental evolution and quick wins, and when each is the right call.
When non-technology leaders make technology decisions (34:40)
What goes wrong when technology decisions are made on limited advice, and how the right independent guidance keeps a growing business from committing to the wrong platform.
The CEO’s role: clarity, availability, and fast decisions (48:15)
What can a CEO or founder actually do to enable transformation?
Where AI and data create new innovation (54:42)
AI and cheaper data analysis are making real insights far more accessible than a decade ago. The panel provides real-world examples from their own experience.
Building a workforce where change is normal (56:54)
Answering a viewer question from an MD: how do you create an environment where change and growth flow from a motivated workforce?
Want to turn innovation into growth in your business?
Book an IT assessment for growth. It’s a brief, focused conversation about your strategy, systems, and capabilities, with an eye on where technology and better decisions can create your next stage of growth.