The drive through window so common to the fast food industry was adopted from the banking industry. The monthly recurring revenue model utilized or desired by today’s high tech industry was developed by the Book of the Month Club one hundred years ago.
More recently, Ford’s 2014 reboot of the iconic F-150 is based on advances in aircraft aluminum then CEO Alan Mulally had worked on for Boeing years before. Adapting this aircraft technology to the car industry, Ford introduced a radically remodeled F-150 truck with an aluminum body, making the best-selling truck lighter and stronger with more towing capacity and better gas mileage than earlier versions.
As these examples prove, innovation in business is rarely the result of a brand new idea. It is more likely the result of a new application of an existing idea. Innovators and entrepreneurs like Ford's Mulally frequently enter new markets with a fresh outlook based on previous experiences in other markets.
As a profession, public accounting may be innovatively challenged. We rarely get a fresh perspective from other industries. I don’t know many people who successfully exited their software biz or tech company and decided to start an accounting firm. But we do have the very unique opportunity of gaining insight into the various industry practices of our clients.
What innovations or ideas have you successfully borrowed from other industries and implemented in your firm?
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Brian Amann can be reached at 303.921.5310 or send an email.
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