The President's Message

Innovation can be a scary word. For most of us, it conjures images of leaving the familiar behind, and learning to think in a whole new way.  But in fact, most of us are innovators at work and in our lives - for we are always seeking new and better ways to satisfy our needs. The end product of innovation is improvement, whether that means more money, more time, more productivity, or more gratification for our efforts.

At Communities of Tomorrow we concern ourselves with looking for innovations in municipal infrastructure. New and better ways to build roads, water systems, and the other basic under-pinnings of modern urban life.  We align ourselves with those who are looking for a better way, whether they are hard working entrepreneurs, research professionals, or municipal governments.  Often they tell us that finding the time and means to innovate what they do is their greatest challenge.

I recently read an article  called “How To Innovate With Less”, by Scott Anthony, from the Harvard Business Review. It offered four simple tips to keep your enthusiasm for innovation alive:

1. Forget the big budget. Innovation doesn’t have to cost a lot. Rely on open-source software, online market research tools, and virtual prototypes to test ideas cheaply.
2. Test in the real market. Don’t waste time endlessly perfecting ideas before you launch. Get a “good enough” design out there, then test and refine the market.
3. Skip the business plan. Focus on making the idea happen, not planning every detail.
4. Make decisions and move on.  Don’t be afraid to wind down ideas when they start to fail. You’ll free up scarce resources for the next good ideas.

The focus in those four points is on action, doing whatever you can to move your innovative idea forward.  Luckily, in Saskatchewan, those with a good idea in the infrastructure field have supportive organizations, like ours, to turn to.  We have worked with, and continue to work with, many companies, communities, and researchers, that are at the very earliest stages of developing their great idea.

Our staff are ready, willing, and able to hear about your innovation and to help you take it to the next stage.  You only need to contact us to start the process.