Innovation The New Currency For Competition

Last week's BusinessWeek Magazine has a great report on our New Economy and why innovation will be key.

They are the best-kept secret of the business world: a whole new breed of "C-suite" managers who wear titles such as "chief marketing officer," "director, design and brand experience," or the voguish new moniker "chief innovation officer."

Some key sentences I picked out of the report .

Patrick Whitney believes that companies today face an "innovation gap." They have the tools of technology to make virtually anything, but lack the tools of empathy to understand what consumers really want. Filling this gap is the task at hand. It is also the sweet spot for top-line growth and high-margin profit.

But who really wants to hire people with masters degrees in "administration" when today's business culture demands managers who can master the process of innovation.

When outsourcing to China and India is universal, when creeping commoditization of products, services, and information hammers prices, innovation is the new currency of competition.

It is the key to organic growth, the lever to widen profit margins, the Holy Grail of 21st century business

Some interesting stats for where innovation will be key.