What’s your CIO – Chief Innovation Obstacle?

“If you studied composition in high school, somewhere along the line you learned this.  In literature all stories can be
categorized into one of five or six types:

• Man versus himself
• Man versus man
• Man versus nature
• Man versus supernatural
• Man versus society

When you think of all the stories you hear, all the books you read, this list seems almost too short, too simple.  Yet this kind
of taxonomy is relatively common.  When you drill deeply into many different subjects you’ll find many variations on just a few common types.

This concept is also true, and consistent, when you consider the factors for innovation success or failure.  There are perhaps four or five key plot lines when we look at the success or failure of innovation in an organization:

• Idea versus idea
• Idea versus existing product
• Idea versus existing culture
• Idea versus decision maker
• Idea versus budget

So, the question becomes, what is your CIO – chief innovation obstacle – when it comes to innovation? “