Consider some of the synonyms of innovation - change, alteration, revolution, upheaval, transformation, metamorphosis, breakthrough, ingenuity, and inspiration. Revolutionary change is certainly not without added risk. It requires people to step outside the status quo, to stop working around the margins, and to step “outside the box” to create new ways of doing business, new alliances, and new relationships.
Tammy Bernier, the WWEMA chairman for 2016 and president of Duperon Corporation, is challenging WWEMA members and staff this year to take a much broader view of innovation - to consider revolutionary rather than evolutionary changes. This involves not only the services that we provide to our members but also the relationships we have with others in the water community, from regulators to engineers to end-users to other manufacturers.
She is asking us to evaluate how we currently do business and think more broadly about how we might be able to do business differently. Where do we have good working relationships and where do they need to be improved? Where do manufacturers, as the technology solution providers, need to be at the table? How can we work better with others in the water community to help them understand that without manufacturers who are willing to take risks, we would not have safe drinking water and a clean environment?
We are also being challenged to think about new relationships with universities, new uses for mobile apps and technology for improving water treatment efficiency, and new relationships with the engineering community. The new year for WWEMA certainly promises to be exciting, inspiring, and revolutionary!
About the Author: Vanessa M. Leiby is the executive director of the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA). To learn more, visit www.wwema.org.
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