Recently, Forbes published its new roundup of America’s most innovative large companies . It’s a nod to the tech giants who manage to stay at the cutting edge despite their massive size in a rapidly changing world. They’re the white whales that swim like sharks—it’s no easy feat.

The idea of going toe-to-toe with those same tech titans is daunting. When Google entered the online form ring, it fomented an existential founder moment for my then-small business. But instead of resolving to remain in the shadows, small- and medium-sized businesses can return to the drawing board, identify the advantages that naturally flow from their nimbler size, and lean into them. Sometimes, we can even take a page from big tech’s strategies and try to execute even better.

Here are four straightforward strategies that your small- or medium-sized business can start using today to compete with the most innovative tech titans.

Continuous innovation is essential to staying competitive in the AI age, and smart, adaptable systems are at the heart of innovative companies.

It’s easy to assume that large companies can build more efficient internal processes because they have more resources to expend on them. While they may have bigger budgets, they also have bigger, more complex workforces to manage. Smaller companies are uniquely positioned to create smart internal systems that they can continually improve, making them potentially more responsive to changing markets, tech landscapes, and customer expectations.

To build better systems, leaders can initiate company-wide audits in which teams and individuals map out their daily tasks and responsibilities, identify unnecessary tasks, steps, or meetings, and uncover opportunities to automate or eliminate them.

It starts with hitting pause. Grab your notepad or your favorite note-taking app and list the steps in each of your regularly recurring workflows. For example, a member of the sales team might map out a process like this:

  • Receive a sales request through an online form
  • Send a proposal to the client
  • Create the contract
  • Initiate onboarding
  • Trigger product delivery
  • Send the invoice.

But within this seemingly simple workflow, additional steps and dependencies are needed to execute it from start to finish, like drafting and editing the contract and verifying whether a product is in stock.

Break down tasks in their entirety—tools, approvals, hand-offs, and more—and make sure each step has an owner. Identify recurring steps that can be automated, whether through an AI-powered tool, a template, or a rules-based automation that triggers other team members when their input is needed. Establish a single platform, like Notion, where team members can follow a task or project’s progress and see who is working on what.

Once you put your system in place, continually measure it. Track how things are progressing, whether tasks stall at certain steps, and where there are opportunities to improve.

Grow In Tandem With Your People

Another factor that sometimes gets lost within huge companies is the human connection; the feeling that a company cares about each individual’s progress, growth, and wellbeing.

Employees at larger companies may benefit from name recognition and cachet, but they’re also more susceptible to feeling like a cog in a wheel. A person’s sense of contribution to the greater mission can get diluted. That “cog” feeling, in turn, can be a wrecking ball for job satisfaction and commitment, according to research . It’s no wonder, then, that big firms tend to see more employees move between companies. In tech hubs like Silicon Valley, for example, professionals in the computer industry have a greater tendency to job hop .

So, how do you build a culture where people grow in tandem with your company?

Prioritize learning and training. Give employees some slack in their schedules so they can learn during business hours, rather than cutting into much-needed personal time. Encourage them to test and experiment with the latest tools. 4 out of 5 employees want to learn more about how to use AI, according to recent research . I’ve found that that type of knowledge acquisition happens through doing , rather than trying to absorb information passively in a course. Another strategy that has worked at my company is organizing employees in cross-functional teams, where they can acquire skills across domains. Allow employees to explore areas and functions that interest them and pique their curiosity, even if they fall outside of their role.

One of the most important indicators of a healthy, sustainable business is when people stay and grow with you.

Listen To Customers Better Than Anyone

Small- and medium-sized business owners are especially equipped to tune into their most important stakeholders: customers. Sure, larger companies have the resources to field customer input around the clock. But with AI agents , SMBs can too—perhaps even better.

Take customer service: you can program AI agents (no coding skills required) to respond to messages as they roll in. That kind of round-the-clock attention keeps customers loyal to brands. If a more complex issue arises, an AI agent can elevate the request to a human expert.

What’s more, AI agents can tap into information beyond explicit communications and continuously gather customer feedback. Collecting that kind of data used to require considerable manpower, but today, AI agents can execute those tasks automatically, analyzing factors like customer sentiment, recurring issues, and emerging trends.

This feedback loop can lead to more satisfied customers. But a less obvious benefit is that it also enriches your employees’ understanding of your customers, helping inform how they work and make decisions.

Test, Tweak, Refine, Repeat

Finally, Forbes highlighted that the most innovative large companies are defined by iteration. Instead of resting on their laurels, they continue to improve their products.

“Innovative companies know that building one better mousetrap isn’t enough: They must refine it, test it and repeat it, until invention drives the business,” note the authors.

In a time when consumer expectations are constantly evolving, a product or service is always on the verge of obsolescence. That may sound like pessimism or a reason to panic, but it can cut the other way, too: as a source of fuel for continued innovation.

Employees are often best positioned to identify opportunities to improve a product or service. They’re closest to customers and can spot recurring questions, frustrations, and unexpected ways people use what you’ve built. Encourage employees at all levels, whether they’re interns or senior management, to share ideas for improvement—and give them a forum to explore those ideas. At Jotform, we have a standing demo day every Friday that gives all of our teams an open floor to share their latest projects and ideas. They know that no idea is too far-fetched.

Build a culture of experimentation, even if it results in occasional missteps. Not every idea will work, and that’s the point: testing an idea gives you information you wouldn’t have otherwise. It generates valuable data points. Talk openly about what didn’t work and turn it into a teachable moment. Even if testing leaves a trail of failed experiments, if it ultimately leads to a product or service that better serves customers, it’s worth it.