Innovative products enhance opportunities to engage customers. Innovation doesn’t just mean new product development; it also means understanding and meeting customers’ personal goals. By enhancing communication skills, employees can improve their ability to understand and focus on customers’ needs. Employees learn to ask the right questions and listen for vital cues.

Shortening the path to new product/service release is central to a core strategy of unrelenting focus on customers’ priorities. When colleagues communicate with each other in a way that values different styles, it encourages diversity of thought. Diversity sparks creativity. When people know that they are valued for their unique perspective, trust is built, and trust is the heart of high performance teams. High functioning teams are a necessity, not a “nice-to-aspire-to,” for organizations that intend not only to survive, but also to excel and prosper. When people feel comfortable both challenging and contributing, they bring the contagious, positive energy necessary for excellence in innovation.

Not only is performance important for innovation, but the way the performance is achieved is relevant. We are more connected and open to customers than ever, so the way we treat others is critically important. Positive communication habits show through the organization’s public interfaces.