People attending Williston’s annual Mon-Dak Ag Open were not only treated to breakfast and good conversation Wednesday morning. They also enjoyed a presentation about the importance of applying innovation to their business to remain competitive.

Wednesday’s keynote speech was delivered by Rick Fisch. Fisch is president of the Northwest Food Processors Innovation Productivity Center. He spoke for about 45 minutes to the nearly 100 people about “Navigating Changing Times.”

Fisch primarily talked about the importance of being creative and the pursuit of applying innovation to one’s business. He said innovation is critical to a business in the effort to expand and overall long-term success.

“I think innovation is one of the most misunderstood terms out there. Everyone knows about productivity. You get more productivity through innovation,” said Fisch.

Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary defines innovation as “the introduction of something new; a new idea, method or device.” Fisch said the ability to have the vision for innovation and find ways to achieve and apply it can go a long way in advancing one’s business. But he said it’s tough to be innovative and achieve high levels of innovation. He said it takes a lot of hard work and ingenuity.

“It’s tough to get on the phone and order 1,000 pounds of innovation because it’s tough to get your hands around it. You want to be unique. If you can do that, you immediately reduce or eliminate competition,” said Fisch.

Fisch said in business, the ability to do things in terms of productivity and innovation involve skills sets that stem from opposite sides of the brain. He said people who specialize in productivity tend to use the left side of the brain.

Fisch said left-brained individuals are methodical and practical in their thinking and can tend to be hesitant to leave their comfort zone and try something new and daring.

Those who are innovative, conversely, tend to be right-brained individuals, said Fisch. He said those who use the right side of the brain tend to be more daring, more willing to take risks and have more imagination for new ideas and approaches.

“You really need to be both,” said Fisch.

Fisch said when it comes to innovation, there are different levels. He said companies may run a product for a while and when it realizes it’s reached its peak, it comes up with a new alternative or branches out to continue the success.

As an example, he cited Ocean Spray. Fisch said a company like Ocean Spray is one that pursues incremental changes.

He said the company produced cranberry sauce for decades. Realizing a company can only last so long on one major product, it was innovative and created a famous cranberry juice. Now, it’s expanded its market with their Craisins, packets of dried cranberries that are like raisins.

Another type of innovation, he said, is the industry change. Industry changes are innovations that can redefine an industry such as frozen French fries or bags of pre-cut, pre-packaged lettuce you find at the supermarket, said Fisch.

Another kind of innovation is the world change. These are major changes that have a global impact and revolutionize an industry or part of life. He said examples of this would include cell phones, online banking and so on.

Fisch said there are many ways to cultivate innovation, but innovation starts at the top. He said there needs to be leaders who can mix productivity with an innovative spirit to move a company forward.

There also needs to be encouragement of employees, who Fisch said are “in the trenches” and around the product every day. He said they can be a valuable resource in thinking of new ideas.

“When it comes to management, tell them what it takes to conduct the job; but don’t tell them how to do their job because that takes away their innovative spirit,” said Fisch.

Fisch said an ideal goal has best been described by Roger Martin, a reknowned author and an instructor and business school dean in Toronto, Canada. Fisch said according to Martin, when faced with opposed models or ideas, meld them together to create a business that is successful and better than both.

Fisch said overall, the key is to mix productivity and innovation in a way that is good for you and your business, which then nurtures growth and success.