Understanding Growth Through Innovation

Business, Technology
Reading Time: 3 minutes

The causes of innovation, entrepreneurship and top performance were advanced this week by the release of a pair of best-selling books, both by the same author. Dr. Jeff D. Standridge, founder of Jeff Standridge Innovation Partners, wrote and designed “The Innovator’s Field Guide” and “The Top Performer’s Field Guide” to give startup founders, business owners and investors fresh and relevant, bite-sized ideas and stories to spark innovation and creative improvement within their businesses. Both books became simultaneous #1 best-sellers – a feat seldom accomplished by a solo author. Private equity funds, portfolio companies, solo practitioners, and even large organizations have found these field guides relevant and useful in their efforts to drive profit growth, leadership effectiveness, and operational excellence.

Out of roughly 7 billion people worldwide, 400 million are entrepreneurs. These statistics mean that roughly, one in 18 people own a business. Small businesses and entrepreneurs account for approximately 99 percent of all employers and create 85 percent of all “net new” jobs in the US today. By any measure, these people are the lifeblood of the economy. But Standridge contends that it just isn’t business owners who can benefit from these guides.

“Innovation isn’t just about doing,” says Standridge, “It’s about THINKING and DOING in harmony with one another. Unfortunately, the pressures to create, to launch, to run fast often get in the way of deep, true exploration. We don’t explore the world around us (including our own habits & behaviors) for possible innovations. We don’t question our leadership of others. We don’t ask ourselves whether we are headed in the right direction. We don’t honestly assess our own individual performance. As a result, we don’t achieve what we could otherwise.  In addition to entrepreneurs and business executives, I’m hearing from school teachers, non-profit leaders, and government officials that these books are having an impact. That’s the best news any author could ever hear.”

There are books in the marketplace that teach the disciplines of innovation, the processes of entrepreneurship and the methods of organizational change management. What doesn’t exist is a guide for the PERSON who’s leading these innovations. “The Innovator’s Field Guide” certainly touches on those disciplines, processes, and methods, but it does so through the lens of the person executing them. “The Top Performer’s Field Guide” builds on that foundation to help the reader develop sustained top performance in any setting.

Dr. Standridge spent almost three decades focused on his intense study of top performance and has worked in numerous countries across five continents. His company consults and trains businesses and their owners to produce sustained results in the areas of leadership, profit growth, strategy, innovation, and organizational effectiveness.

Todd Greer, the CEO of SpotRight Inc. spoke of his experience with Standridge. “I have worked with and around Jeff for over a decade. Jeff is a tenacious business leader and attacks challenges with a serious, thoughtful, innovator’s mindset. Equally important, he is an expert at the “human-factor,” which can completely undermine an academic approach to problem-solving, and he interlaces his understanding of psychology and sociology with his many years of practical experience to produce results.”

“Forward-thinking entrepreneurs, innovators and change agents, in any setting, who not only anticipate future challenges but who also take proactive steps to overcome those issues become the break-out leaders of tomorrow,” says Standridge. “Our world needs break-out leaders like never before.”

Dr. Jeff D. Standridge helps organizations and their leaders generate sustained results in the areas of innovation, strategy, profit growth, organizational effectiveness, and leadership. Formerly a Vice President for Acxiom Corporation, he has led established and startup business units in North & South AmericaEuropeAsia and the Middle East. Jeff serves as Chief Catalyst for the Conductor (www.ARConductor.org) is Co-founder of Cadron Capital Partners (www.CadronCapital.com), and teaches in the College of Business at the University of Central Arkansas (www.UCA.edu).

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