AVN Chairman & CEO Steve Hedrick was recently featured in Authority Magazine, an online publication that shares perspectives of prominent figures in business, pop culture, wellness, social impact, and tech. In an in-depth interview, Hedrick offered his perspective on accelerating process ideation and innovation, emphasizing the importance of listening to the market, your customers and your team. In addition, he highlighted AVN Corp.’s revolutionary advancements toward a circular economy, applauding the team’s achievements.
With over two decades of experience in the petrochemical industry, Hedrick credits his success to three traits: empathy, the willingness to do hard things, and commitment to excellence. He says that, especially amid change, market-driven ideation and innovation are crucial. He understands that society plays a pivotal role in the direction of the market and that current demands are shifting toward a circular economy. In keeping up with the market’s sustainable advancements, Hedrick says that AVN Corp is helping clients find solutions to reduce plastic waste and driver towards carbon neutrality. By transforming the way plastics are produced and repurposed, AVN is increasing their life cycle efficiency and reducing pollution. In addition, AVN is a collaborative partner in electrifying the chemical sector and researching replenishable energy sources, as part of its ongoing efforts to scale renewable energy and power the industrial sector. Hedrick and his team have shifted to using green chemistry solutions, turning plant-based materials into fuel, and producing ethylene from corn.
In the interview, Hedrick offers five tips for accelerating process ideation and innovation:
- “Listen to the market, your customers and your team. Market demand will heavily influence the capacity of any new process. Trust your team’s experience and listen to their insights.
- Investigate different courses of action. Develop the chosen course of action based on the number of iterations for courses of action development and removal.
- Communicate well and often. Communicate your intentions internally and externally to get buy-in from employees, leadership, and stakeholders.
- Invest in the best. Apply your best resources to the best opportunities, from hiring experienced professionals to purchasing top of the line equipment.
- Commit. Fully commit to seeing the program through. Build the discipline and desire to do this into your company’s core beliefs and operations.”
AVN approaches innovation by balancing societal demands with current process capabilities. They assess the primary market need, quantify the demand, and develop new solutions to fill that need. By prioritizing a growth mindset, Hedrick hand the team refined AVN’s research and testing sequence to one of swift action and innovation.
Click here to read the full interview with Steve Hedrick in Authority Magazine.