Guest Blog by the President and CEO of the American National Standards Institute, S. Joe Bhatia:learn directly from the American National Standards Institute about the importance of standards, how their adoption and promotion can help organizations innovate in a global market, while lowering costs and gaining competitive advantage

Author Bio: S. Joe Bhatia, president and CEO of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), has more than 30 years of leadership experience in global business operations covering engineering, governmental and congressional liaisons, external affairs, and standardization and conformance, and is a frequent lecturer in the U.S. and around the world on topics such as international trade, technical developments, commercial market access, and health, safety and environmental concerns.

As U.S. business and government leaders seek concrete solutions for job growth and global competitiveness, there is an incredibly powerful tool at hand that is sometimes overlooked. This tool can help U.S. industry tap into new and expanding technologies. It can help businesses out-innovate competitors in the global market. And it can help you cut costs and boost your bottom line.

I'm talking about standardization -and there has never been a more crucial time for American businesses to leverage standards and conformance to gain a powerful advantage.

Standardization not only informs the direction of innovation, it impacts the strength of the American workforce. Standards have the potential to accelerate the idea-to-market cycle, increase the number of U.S. products and services in markets worldwide, and save companies millions of dollars.

In short, standards have the power to turbo-charge innovation and fuel business growth.

But to gain the greatest advantage, you have to get informed, and -better yet -get involved. That's why the U.S. standardization community has worked together to develop the Standards Boost Business outreach initiative. The goal is to help business leaders understand the strategic and economic value of standards -both to your company, and to our overall national competitiveness.

The case studies and testimonials at www.StandardsBoostBusiness.org provide real-world examples of how U.S. businesses are leveraging standards to their advantage. One example shows how Dominion Resources, one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, has saved millions of dollars, increased efficiencies, and improved safety measures. And a gallery of videos from executives at such major firms asHubbell Incorporated, NEMA, and Eaton Corporationoffers first-hand accounts on how standardization has fostered the success and growth of their businesses.

All of these organizations have been able to streamline processes, trim costs, gain market access, and boost their bottom line.

In today's global marketplace, your company needs every advantage it can get.Here are three important steps you can take to make sure that you reap the rewards standards and conformance can provide:

1)     Participatein standards development activities, both domestic and international. This allows your company to exert influence on technical content, and align your products and services with market demand.

By participating in standards development activities, you have an opportunity todirectly influencethe requirements and guidelines for your product.

2)     Rely on standardsto design your products and services, andturn to recognized conformity assessmentsystems to test, inspect, certify, and accredit them.

Not only will this help you assure quality and customer satisfaction, it will also facilitate cross-border interoperability, ensuring market access for components and products you manufacture in all the countries you want to sell in.

3)      Treat standardization as astrategic business tool. Put in place a corporate policy that supports standards development and use, right alongside quality, safety, intellectual property, and environmental performance. It is just as important to the long-term health of your business.

At a time when the public and private sectors are looking for concrete solutions to help spur job creation and ensure America's strength in the innovation age, it is more important than ever for U.S. companies to harness the power of standardization.

I hope you will visit www.standardsboostbusiness.org and get involved in standardization today.

S. Joe Bhatia

President and CEO

American National Standards Institute