1. Start small and take consistent action.

2. You need a process. Develop…

• A sense of the opportunities that exist and a view of your current competitive landscape.
• A plan to include all possible options, and the required steps to help you get there.
• A structured approach, method, and tools needed to support the change.
• Metrics, goals, and a feedback loop to help you continually improve your new business system.

3. There are three basic ways to think about how to ignite growth inside organizations.

• Strengthen and extend your current business offerings.
• Develop innovation capabilities to include a culture that supports the creation and development of new ideas; a system for taking ideas through the conceptual stage, testing, and into reality; and the people that will be taking this journey with you.
• Building new business models, launching new ventures, or developing new programs and services.

4. Want to accomplish something quickly? Try the following:

• Set a timeline. 90 days is a good place to start.
• Find the gap and build a growth project around it. What customer need is currently not being met?
• Prioritize areas for growth that align with your customers specific needs.
• Create a small, dedicated innovation team.
• Make sure there is an organizational structure and leadership support in place to support the change effort.

5. The most overlooked aspect of innovation and creating growth is simply the idea of getting things done. Movement creates more movement. Taking a step to complete a task will put you in motion to complete the next.

• Tie up loose ends.
• Clear out old projects and make a point to start new, more relevant work.
• Get rid of clutter. Simplify and minimize.
• Finish what you started. The act of bringing a thought to completion demonstrates that you have the ability to create and deliver.

The most important aspect of creating something new is taking action. Vision with out action is just a dream.