Once an organization or team develops valuable products, content, or materials that have a robust shelf life, leaders should consider expanding their strategy to bring that value to others who would benefit from what already has been created.
Before investing in the development of new offerings, savvy leaders do their best to get even more out of what they have already generated.
Sometimes this is about repurposing an existing product or resource. Other times, the best strategy is to find a new or expanded audience for what has already proven successful.
In the restaurant world, chefs call this strategic expansion “ingredient stretching.” They commonly incorporate leftover ingredients in innovative ways to minimize food waste. By repurposing food items, they often land on dishes and recipes that are even better or more profitable than the original offerings. Good leaders do the same thing.
Taking existing content, materials, and resources and adapting them for a new purpose or audience is not only smart, but highly efficient. Designing and developing the next new thing excites the team and keeps the organization evolving to satisfy customers and clients, but that doesn’t mean the team can’t find new ways to use what they have already developed.
Repurposing or expanding the audience with existing content, products or materials usually requires fewer resources and investment. Instead of going in a completely new direction, team members more easily adapt to bringing the same product or content to a new market segment or audience. They enjoy seeing their hard work used by more people. They relish the idea that their work lends itself to a new arena of sales and profitability.
Gaining more leverage from existing materials is often overlooked. It is not as sexy or alluring to simply expand or repurpose an existing product as opposed to creating a new one. So, leaders often overlook this path when revisiting the team’s strategy and vision. This can be a huge miss.
Before embarking on the journey to disrupt the market with new offerings and products, smart leaders look deeply into how they might fully capitalize on what they have already created. Good leaders don’t recycle. They find new and better ways to benefit from what they have already developed. Staying focused longer on great work is what smart is all about.
