it should come as no surprise that Google was named the worlds most innovative company in the March issue of Fast Company. What is surprising to me though is how many companies are still trying to fight against innovation and not providing an environment where it is embraced. Granted we can’t all be Google when it comes to incubating innovation, they require employees to spend a minimum of 4 hour a week working on non-Google projects for example, I do think that there is a lot that smaller more locally based companies can learn from the likes of Google. So here are my top 5 things that apply to small businesses:

1. Release products fast- Then fine tune them to work. This builds a buzz and a fan base, and then keeps those people interested as you are continually improving the product instead of having long development periods.
2. Keep things simple- Travel policies(don’t overspend), Employee Assimilation(Just have them start doing their job), Company Policies(Use common sense)
3. Except for Hiring- This is the exception to keeping things simple, in fact it is what enables you to keep things simple. If you are making hiring a big process then you can be sure you are getting people who you can trust with simple policies and procedures.
4. When in doubt, Do something- If you have two paths and you’re not sure which is right, take the fastest path. Whats true in physics is true with product creation/Business. Once you get a car in motion it is easier to steer then if it just sitting in a parking lot.
5. Create Fearlessness- Google instills a sense fearlessness in it’s employees. they are not afraid to take on big tasks, they are not afraid to speak up with a crazy idea(in fact if they do it will probably become the next great product), they are not afraid if they don’t know how to do something(they figure it out), they are not afraid because the Google enviroment creates a sense of fearlessness when it comes to innovation. Even if they fail they aren’t going to lose their jobs for trying out a new product. They will probably just try to refine it and relaunch it.

So what can you learn from Google?

Thats right we are now on Facebook. We have joined the Social networking revolution and put our business on Facebook.

“Can you even do that? I thought Facebook was for people, not businesses”

Yep you sure can, and what better way to help promote your business then through social networking. You could literally reach thousands of people.

So go on over and check us out on Facebook. And while you’re there join our fan base.

What is an Aboutus.org wiki? Well basically it is a place to let others know about your business. In addition it provides a great way to promote your web site and provide some valuable link backs for Search engines.

So go check our page out. And hey if you want to you can even sign up to edit it, if you think something is missing.

Ok so we’ve got our first Web 2.0 page up today. I know it’s not much to look at yet, but we will continue to work on it.

Check out our Squidoo Lens

Today we are setting up a lot of web 2.0 apps for ourselves here at 11 Bravo. Why you ask? Well simply put we are a technology firm so we are going to stay on top of technology(and we just love doing this stuff).

Also a lot of these great Web 2.0 apps actually help market your business to the masses. Most are free so it will cost you nothing. Think about it. If you spent one day setting up a Facebook Page, A Squidoo Lens, A AboutUs wiki. you could reach more people, which means more business for you. All for just a little bit of your time.

If you are interested in helping to promote your business using these and more great Web 2.0 apps, contact us today find out more.

We’ll Keep you updated throughout the day as we get different apps up.