AT the time of writing, the overall winners of 2010's Football World Cup have not been determined, but it's safe to say that both Spain and The Netherlands have had exciting and successful campaigns.

The spectrum of teams in the tournament have provided a strong and relevant analogy of the way leaders and decision makers manage in different ways to achieve success to varying extents.

Take for example host country South Africa, a team that were never tipped for a long World Cup campaign but whose spirited approach pushed them further than expected and earned them a great deal of respect from other teams and spectators of the tournament. It’s important to remember that whatever the context, success is measured in different ways.

We often hear bosses, leaders and decision makers using sport as an analogy for business, regardless of the sector they come from. It’s true that sport has excellent attributes in terms of endeavour, team work and training.

But there is a point where the similarity between sport and business wane and the metaphor falls down – this point is innovation.

In essence, any sport comes with a strict set of rules that cannot be broken.

In business however you can create your own rules.

Essentially, innovation is simply having a new idea – or taking an idea that already exists and streamlining it to make it work better for your specific business needs.

Innovation is an extremely important aspect of your business, it’s what makes it stand out in the market place, prevents it from going stagnant and helps it to grow and drives prosperity.

Think about what makes your business different, consider the following:

What’s your unique selling point?

Are you thinking outside of the box?

Is there a part of your business that needs updating or simply isn’t working as well as it used to?

When we really think about it, a business shares many qualities with a successful sporting team.

But by leaving the rules behind and taking an innovative approach to any obstacles that may come your way, business can be rife with opportunities for the lateral thinker who can create new and exciting ways to deliver the products and service a customers want.

If you require any further support or advice, please call Tedco on 0191 428 3535, e-mail enquire@tedco.org  or visit us at www.tedco.org .

:: Carole White is business support manager at Tedco.