Team Building Innovation?

When I started writing this blog I hoped to introduce you to what I consider innovation in Teambonding and the team building industry. This week I had an interesting lesson in innovation.

One of my hobbies if you will is to check out what other companies are doing in the team building industry here in the US and abroad. It is amazing how many programs are similar not only from one company to the next but from one country to the next. When we were looking to change the name from our Spy School program, I found not less than 20 other companies world-wide offering spy themed programs including other Spy Schools. I wondered now and then how such similar programs were being developed simultaneously and what truly was innovative.

One of the very interesting parts of this type of business is the respect and catering to our clients, especially our repeat clients. Most want something new and different which is shortly followed up by a request for photos and references. We do our best to stay up with what is new and different in team building while offering the tried and true to be able to satisfy all types of clients.

So what did I learn this week? While searching the web I was a little surprised to find another local team building company had copied the colors of our website, had taken our forms, had created programs similar to ours and was deliberately trying to copy what we had created. I confronted the owner and got an interesting response. Without identifying the source, I would like to share his response.
“The reality of business in general is that there’s very little in it that’s 100% original. Innovation is accomplished by making other people’s ideas better.”

That definition of innovation I can agree with. He gave the example of the iPhone and there so many examples in history where the creator of a particular invention didn’t get the fame and fortune. It was often the person or company that came in and made it better. Still, he and I agreed that there is a fine line between innovation and confusing the clients. He agreed to change the colors of his site and remove the items that were directly taken from Teambonding. So, I learned a little more about innovation, negotiation and communication.

Here is what Tom Peters says about Innovation. Maybe my competitor is innovative?

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