3 Things Every Company Can Learn from Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is no longer a region in California that full of “techy people”. Nowadays, it is a representation of business success in other places like Dublin, New York, London etc. Lisa Ower, an HR executive, shared in an article in  Forbes three things that “traditional companies” can learn from Silicon Valley companies:

“Agility Built Into Everything”
Traditional companies tend to follow a specific business strategy but they are slow when it comes to change or adopt new things. Unlike “the Silicon Valley-type of organization” who have the “ability to change, reinvent, learn and adapt quickly”.

“Innovation = Survival”
There are many stories about companies that failed because they didn’t create something new or “innovate”. For example,  Blockbuster and Borders Books failed because they didn’t develop their services and “think about the future” which led companies like Netflix and Amazon “to  flourish and dominate their market”. “Here, innovation equates to longevity and relevancy”.

” Culture Is Key”
Every CEO in the Silicon Valley focused on hiring the best people in their company. Ower said that CEOs in Silicon Valley “are constantly working on evolving and building enviable cultures that help them retain and attract the very best. This is all by design and usually tied to corporate strategy. They are upfront about the culture and what it’s like to work there. If they have a game room or encourage people to get away from their work for a bit during the day, it’s because they understand that short “brain breaks” are going to help recharge workers, build relationships between colleagues, increase productivity and encourage employees to come back each day. Worth noting, keeping employees coming back each day is more difficult for Silicon Valley-type companies. Some of the top organizations see an average employee tenure of fewer than two years. More and more industries are also starting to see this a downward trend in tenure with an average of about four years of service. Silicon Valley companies embrace this trend and use it to their advantage. They understand that when people leave, it opens up the door for new, fresh thinking to enter.”