Ten Ways to Inhibit Innovation

Every company is looking for the magic formula that will produce breakthrough products and services. But a better starting point is to think about what gets in the way of innovation, especially in firms that already have lots of talented, creative, and motivated people. In other words, by identifying and removing barriers, it might be possible to accelerate innovation simply by leveraging the capability that's already there.

In that spirit, here are ten common inhibitors that can dampen an organization's ability to innovate effectively. For each one, think about the extent to which it applies to your firm (never? sometimes? often?):

1. Our focus on short-term results drives out ideas that take longer to mature.
2. Fear of cannibalizing current business prevents investment in new areas.
3. Most of our resources are devoted to day-to-day business so that few remain for innovative prospects.
4. Innovation is someone else's job and not part of everyone's responsibilities.
5. Our efficiency focus eliminates free time for fresh thinking.
6. We do not have a standard process to nurture the development of new ideas.
7. Incentives are geared towards maximizing today's business and reducing risk.
8. Managers are not trained to be innovation leaders.
9. Managers immediately look for flaws in new ideas rather than tease out their potential.
10. We look at opportunities through internal lenses rather than starting with customers' needs and problems.

After you've thought about these questions individually, bring together your team to discuss your answers. You also might want to send the questions to a wider group and see how they respond. The key is to use this list of inhibitors (and any others you might want to add) as a springboard for dialogue about your company's innovation practices and culture.

For example, through this process a group of 50 high-potential senior managers from different parts of a manufacturing company all agreed that the focus on short-term incentives was making it difficult for them to support innovation -- which was contrary to the message that the CEO was delivering to them and their people. This led the managers to initiate a dialogue with the CEO about alternative ways to fund innovation, resource and vet new ideas, and accelerate progress. While it's too early to know whether these shifts will make a difference or not, they have already reduced frustration and helped eliminate mixed messages about innovation.

All of us in organizations have the capability to innovate. Sometimes we just have to get out of our own way.

What inhibits innovation in your company?

Cross-posted from Harvard Business Online.

 

Follow Ron Ashkenas on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SchafferResults

Comments

[littlebrowngirl]

10:06 PM on 07/28/2012

Micro management kills innovation.

[GoldsteinD]

11:51 PM on 07/27/2012

One way to inhibit innovation is to pile on more govt regs so the only ones that have the resources to deal with them are huge corporations. Liberal pols are the best friends of big business

[BBackSoon]

02:10 PM on 07/27/2012

I found numbers 3, 5 and 7 to be biggies. In my own experience, which is IT for a Moderately large Multi-national, we are and have always been understaffed. We have just enough people to function, but we are responsible for break/fix, upgrades and conversions as well. All of these things are done in a half azzed way because there is never enough time (or money) to do things right the first time.

Instead of investing in the future, our policy makers look at that 1 to 3 year window and there is no room for major enhancements in that window.

[Roosevelt Democrat]

02:03 PM on 07/27/2012

The best idea I've ever heard of to increase innovation is to require 10% of anything sold in a nation be made in that nation. Imagine a 100 different nations making cellular phones the opportunity for innovation is about 20 times greater than what it is today.

This requiring 10% of all products being made in a nation would create lots of jobs. Sure it's inefficient but the best method of redistribution of wealth is for the government to reduce profit efficiency. Think about how OSHA cuts into manufactures profits, Think about the EPA. But think of the jobs it creates also.