When Innovation Goes Horribly Wrong

The hot topic in many businesses today is innovation.  I haven’t met a client yet that isn’t talking about and actively searching for ways to innovate within their business.  However, there are times when innovation can actually do more harm than good, and not much is written on the failures that can result when initiatives aren’t implemented well.  While nearly every organization can benefit from increased focus on innovation, there are some common pitfalls that must be understood before you embark on a path to make innovation part of your organization’s approach.

Over the last 20+ years, I have designed and implemented a number of innovation initiatives within large organizations.  From those efforts, I’ve gained some valuable insight into how to make innovation a successful part of your enterprise, and equally important, where things can go down the tubes fast.  Here are some key points to remember:

1.  Simply declaring innovation as a focus area doesn’t deliver results.  Any effort to rekindle the spirit of creativity in your organization must be well planned and sustained consistently.

2.  Leadership is imperative – it’s non-negotiable.  If your entire leadership team isn’t committed to it, then stop now and address the detractors.  The fastest way to stifle innovation is to have a leader not “all in” with the intent and direction.

3.  Patience is key especially in established organizations whose success and culture has evolved around an industry reputation.  Don’t expect breakthrough ideas out of the gate.

4.  Consistently recognize ideas and their authors no matter how trivial or insignificant an idea may appear.

5.  Be flexible and adapt your efforts as they evolve.  Implementing a structured process for innovation is antithetical to creativity.  Innovation is often a messy, unstructured ecosystem and attempts to cram it into a structured process won’t get you to the next breakthrough.

Let me address each of these points now in further detail.

First, many executives have recognized that innovation is the spark they may need to ignite new growth.  When markets mature, competition stiffens, and customer buying behavior changes, it often creates a sense of urgency and a call to action.  Declaring that innovation is now a part (or a renewed emphasis) of your strategic intent is not likely to suddenly open the gates of creativity and unleash latent potential.  Time invested up-front in identifying areas where innovation is warranted helps create focus.  One executive I worked with for years often says he wants employees to innovate, but not while in the midst of a critical installation procedure on the shop floor.  Instead, if the employee identifies a better way to do something, he wants them to take note of it and then recommend the innovation where it can be evaluated and potentially introduced in future efforts.  Experimenting on a customer’s product where mistakes can be catastrophic is not what you’re looking for.

I’ve seen far too many instances where the executive office launches off on a new creative initiative only to have mid-level managers blow the whole thing off.  The dissonance created when leadership isn’t on the same sheet of music is the surest and fastest way to kill any initiative.  What’s more, even if the top-down pressure is intense, managers have subtle ways of blocking good ideas from bubbling up.  For example, a manager may suggest (or require) employees review their ideas with them before submitting.  Employees not wanting to expose themselves to criticism by their manager will likely chose to remain silent.  Therefore, if management is serious about innovation as a value, then they must create ways for employees to circumvent the chain of command and there must be clear accountability from top to bottom that holds managers who create barriers responsible. 

Another mistake organizations often make is in believing that once they’ve allowed and encouraged employees to be creative, a flood of great ideas will suddenly emerge as if the gates have been open and all the pent-up energy is unleashed.  Employees in organizations that historically didn’t reward and value new ideas will be reluctant at first to put their best and most treasured creativity on the table.  So don’t be surprised if the ideas you see initially are low-hanging fruit and not very significant.  The fact is, employees are testing the waters to see how serious management is about recognizing and valuing ideas.  If they see a pattern emerge where these simple ideas for improvement are ignored or diminished, you’ll never see the really big ones unless they emerge from a competitor an employee left for.  Patience is key especially in the beginning, and with patience, persistence.  Recognize and reward ideas in the beginning on a consistent basis, and the chances of finding the nuggets of tremendous success will slowly emerge.  Trust will grow when employees realize you're committed to them and willing to engage with them in the ideation process.

Any idea should be recognized.  Employees aren’t always motivated by financial rewards for their ideas.  In fact, I’ve found that innovation tournaments where prizes and cash are used as motivators are actually less successful than initiatives where recognition is the centerpiece.  Personal acknowledgement and recognition is essential.  What’s even more important is specific feedback on each idea.  If the idea has merit, provide feedback on why the idea is good and what you intend on doing with it.  If the idea could use further improvement, engage in a discovery process and help them refine it.  Finally, if the idea is not to be acted upon, explain clearly what was good about the idea and where it was weak.  Provide feedback on why the idea is not being acted upon, thank them for taking the time, and encourage them to keep bringing things forward.

Lastly, don’t fall in love with your innovation framework or approach!  Let employees shape how the approach will evolve and be open to making adjustments – be a learning organization in practice.  Rather than trying to put in place a ‘perfect’ approach from the beginning, get started with something basic and let it grow organically as employees engage.  Let the process that emerges become one that employees recognize as their own, rather than some brainchild of someone in the executive suite.  Be willing to make mistakes, admit them, adjust, and improve.  If employees see that you’re willing to keep trying, your persistence will pay off.  Let them see that your innovation initiative is itself open to innovation.  Every culture has unique attributes and what worked in one group may be a failure in another, so be flexible.

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy execution specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive leadership, igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more by visiting www.connect2action.com.