Going somewhere new encourages us to break out of our normal habits and to see the world with fresh eyes. As you walk down the street to work in Sydney you don't really look at the world, because you are just seeing the same things you saw yesterday and the day before. But if you walk down the street in Paris or Ubud or even Auckland, your eyes hungrily take in everything they can, because it's new.

Holiday travel gives us an opportunity to step back from the day to day rush and question the way that we do things. People often make big decisions about their life whilst they are away on holidays. They decide to change their job, their work/life balance or something else of significance.

The travel industry has changed incredibly quickly in the last decade and only the naïve would think that that period of change is over. More change is ahead, and to survive we need to be innovative; That means that we need to find ways to step back from what we do, question everything, and work out ways to do things better. In short, when we are at work, we need to find ways to step back from the hustle and bustle and think in the same way that we do when we are on holiday.

But how? How do we get that clear perspective and uninterrupted thinking time that we have on holidays when we are rushing around trying to meet deadlines and keep clients and customers happy.

Try these:

• Find 10 minutes a day when you turn off your phone and think about how you can make your business better. Do it every day until it becomes a habit.
• Make a list of everything in the travel business that you suspect is not perfect. Then go through the list, and think about how you can improve each one.
• Question everything that you do. Keep asking 'Why do we do it this way?' and 'Could there be a better way?'
• Think like a customer or a client. Experience your business from their point of view. Become a customer or client for a day and interact with your business. Where are the pinch points? What was difficult? What was irritating?
• Look for trends. Try to work out what your customers are going to want in 5 years time, and then get yourself into a position to provide it
• Make sure that everyone in your business knows that part of everyone's job is to think up ways to improve the business. Make it a KPI for everyone.

Some people act as if innovation is what you do if you have time after you have finished all your work. Smart people realise that innovation is the work.

For further information on James O'Loghlin, or to enquire about booking James for your next conference or event please contact the friendly ODE team on 02 9818 5199 or email marketing@odemanagement.com