Innovation

On my website and in other correspondence I have mentioned a lot about the value of innovation. I indicate the value of introducing innovation to help businesses be the best that they can be. I have quoted studies which indicate that innovation led to the extraordinary productivity gains in the 1990s. I referenced other studies which showed that a large and rising share of growth over recent decades is the result of innovation. I shared that OBCOM could bring valued innovation from “outside the office” into businesses to help them be their best and achieve their vision of success.
Now may be a critical time to look to innovation to keep ahead of the pack. In his recent autobiography, The Age of Turbulence, Alan Greenspan offers a worrying view of the prospects for the U.S. economy in the future. Quoting a review, “Most troubling of all, the author points to ‘a slowdown in innovation,’ which has been powering economic growth throughout much of the last century. This can be seen in companies using their cash flow to repurchase their own stock and pay larger dividends to shareholders rather than investing in new plants and equipment. He fears that this trend towards big dividends is ‘a warning signal of lowered prospective rates of return.’
It is important food for thought that American productivity might be slowing down, and as it does so, the price of U.S. goods may start climbing. Concerned investors everywhere should take note. If Greenspan is right, foreign markets may look more attractive.”