Innovation Killers

Joyce Wycoff of the Innovation Network has listed the top 10 “innovation killers”:
1. Not creating a culture that supports innovation
2. Not getting buy-in and ownership from business unit managers
3. Not having a widely understood, system-wide process
4. Not allocating resources to the process
5. Not tying projects to company strategy
6. Not spending enough time and energy on the fuzzy front-end
7. Not building sufficient diversity into the process
8. Not developing criteria and metrics in advance
9. Not training and coaching innovation teams
10. Not having an idea management system
Read the full article for solutions. “The Big Ten Innovation Killers and How to
Keep Your Innovation System Alive and Well by Joyce Wycoff”
Dr. Lauchlan A. K. Mackinnon at Idea Managemnt Systems blog here, rephrases them so:
“1. Not removing fear of doing something new or of failing.
2. Not making innovation performance part of everyone’s review performance review process, with innovation targets and KPIs
3. Not documenting, communicating and getting buy-in to the innovation process
4. Not allowing flexibility to explore new possibilities and collaborate with others inside and outside the organization.
5. Failing to ensure that everyone understands the corporate strategy, and that all innovation efforts are aligned with it – while still catching ideas from the left field
6. Not scanning the environment for new ideas and stimulation
7. Not honouring a diversity of thinking styles, experience, perspectives and expertise.
8. Not finding a balance between good focal criteria that can focus ideation and restrictive criteria can stifle ideation and perpetuate assumptions and mindsets from the past.
9. Not treating innovation teams differently to “regular” project teams: Innovation needs different tools and different mindsets, different training and a different mix of skills and personalities.
10. Not buying or developing an idea management system that captures ideas in a way that encourages people to build on and evaluate new possibilities.”
I wonder how many libraries maintain an idea management system? Do we respect new ideas enough to write them down and return to them and prioritie them, make choices,…? If they’re ‘before-their-time” can we put them in a holding pattern or parking lot until they’re cooked?
Stephen