Building a Better Mousetrap: The productivity reality

<p>Episode #255 // Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “<em>Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door!</em>”. This quote, espousing the value of innovation, has been liberally used and abused over the years.</p><br><p>I came across it again recently in an article from McKinsey: <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/overview/in-the-news/turning-around-the-productivity-slowdown#" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Turning Around the Productivity Slowdown</em></a>… so, what is productivity? And what’s the relationship between productivity and innovation?</p><br><p>In today’s episode, I look at productivity from a number of different angles. What does it mean in the world of macroeconomics? How does productivity impact our standard of living?&nbsp;</p><br><p>On a day-to-day level, what does it mean <em>for your type of industry and organization</em>? Can productivity provide a competitive advantage?</p><br><p>It doesn’t matter what type of organization you’re leading in, improving productivity will reap huge benefits for <em>all</em> your stakeholders… including the people who work for you.&nbsp;</p><br><p>But, getting your head around <em>why</em> you should have a constant focus on productivity improvement can be a little tricky… hopefully this episode will help.</p><br><p><strong>Source Material:&nbsp;</strong></p><br><p><strong><em>No Bullsh!t Leadership </em>Episode<em>:</em></strong></p><p><a href="https://www.yourceomentor.com/episode115" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Ep.115: Does Innovation Create Value?</em></a></p><p><a href="https://www.yourceomentor.com/episode203" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Ep.203: Defending Against Disruptive Innovation</em></a></p><p><strong><em>McKinsey Global Institute </em>Article:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/overview/in-the-news/turning-around-the-productivity-slowdown#" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Turning Around the Productivity Slowdown</em></a></p><p><strong><em>Diary