INNOVATION is the key to being a competitive business of any size, according to GUD Holdings CEO Jonathan Ling.
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Mr Ling addressed this month's Dubbo Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) CEO Speaker Breakfast, and spoke of how GUD Holdings' household brands, including Sunbeam, Ryco and Oates, stay ahead of the pack.
"We are a very decentralised organisation because we believe in entrepreneurship and innovation right down to the lowest levels of our organisation," Mr Ling said.
Innovation needed to be institutionalised, and Mr Ling said GUD Holdings uses a three-step process: firstly, a team gains insight into what problems exist for their customers and retail partners, then people generate ideas to solve those problems, before engineers come in and decide which of the ideas is practically achievable.
"Everyone in our team has a job and if everyone does their job well then the company goes well," Mr Ling said.
But businesses based in regional centres such as Dubbo, he said size in no barrier to innovation.
"You can do it with one person, you can do it with two. With the idea creation, you can sit down with your family and friends, you can use your own networks," Mr Ling said.
"It's a fundamental part of any business. If we can have our people thinking and behaving that way [striving for innovation], and we are giving them the tools and the skills to do that then our business will reap the benefits."