Comment gérez-vous la résistance et l’échec dans le parcours de l’innovation ?

Dealing with resistance in innovation involves empathetic communication and demonstrating value, while viewing failure as a learning opportunity, essential for refining ideas and building resilience in your innovation journey.

Build diverse teams with people from different backgrounds and skills to find solutions and minimize resistance. Compile a lesson-learned log that collects stories of innovative initiatives within the organization to share insights on what worked and what didn't. Also, leverage external forums where industry leaders talk openly about their innovation failures, bringing in new perspectives.

Embracing a growth mindset in the face of resistance and failure involves viewing challenges as opportunities to learn and grow. It’s about recognizing that skills and intelligence can be developed through dedication and hard work. Instead of fearing failure, see it as a necessary step towards innovation. Cultivate curiosity, embrace feedback, and understand that every attempt, successful or not, is a chance to improve. Persistence is key; when faced with setbacks, analyze what went wrong, adapt your approach, and try again. Celebrate progress, not just perfection, and maintain resilience by focusing on long-term goals rather than short-term obstacles. This mindset turns the innovation journey into a continuous learning path.

As a serial entrepreneur with 3 exits, I've faced my fair share of resistance and setbacks along the innovation journey. Embrace Failure as a Learning Opportunity: Every failure is a chance to learn and grow. Analyze what went wrong, identify key lessons, and apply them to future endeavors. Build Resilience and Grit: Resilience is essential in the face of adversity. Develop coping mechanisms, maintain a positive mindset, and surround yourself with a supportive network. Persuade with Data and Evidence: When faced with resistance, back up your ideas with data and evidence. A strong case can help overcome objections and gain buy-in.

Listening to the people showing resistance is a safe start to deal with it ✨You need a blend of resilience, adaptability, and a deep understanding of the underlying causes. In my experience, acknowledging and addressing the root causes of resistance, often rooted in fear of change or lack of understanding, is crucial. Engage stakeholders, foster open communication, and build trust. Also, see it as a valuable learning opportunity. As Amy Edmondson says, fail well, learn.

Navigating resistance and failure in innovation requires a stakeholder-centric approach. Engage them so they feel like active contributors, not just spectators. Spend time understanding their concerns, even if sometimes they have a hard time articulating them. Ask: what needs to be true for you to feel confident about this initiative? Negotiate resource allocation so they don't feel their priorities are left to the side. The truth is that no project will survive internal resistance, so spend time ensuring everyone is on board.

Stakeholder engagement refers to the process of involving individuals or groups who have a vested interest or influence in an organization’s activities. These stakeholders can include employees, customers, investors, suppliers, regulators, and the local community. Engaging with stakeholders goes beyond simply communicating with them; it involves actively seeking their input, involving them in decision-making processes, and addressing their concerns and expectations. A well-defined stakeholder engagement plan is not merely a nice-to-have, but a best practice fundamental to sustainable development goals and corporate governance.

La innovación crece en ecosistema. Navegar el cambio, la innovación y la transformación, requiere co crear y trabajar con las partes involucradas, esto no solo facilita el alcance de los resultados en equipo si no también mitiga los riesgos y garantiza tener una visión de negocio transversal.

It's important to communicate with stakeholders that Innovation is not an event; it is a process. It goes far beyond imagining. Most ideas have been thought of already. Self-driving cars and teleportation devices have been in books and movies for decades. A flying machine was in Davinci's notes centuries before one ever took flight. As a process, Innovation can be managed in an organized or haphazard way. Stakeholders are partners, and so it's important that their interests and investments (whether of time, energy, or resources) are properly aligned and utilized. Using the VC funding rounds framework is a great model to use to start ensuring stakeholders are in alignment with the current stage focus.

On Resistance. Innovation immature organisations have trouble with doing new things because they challenge the status quo and the dominant Core. Even if you are in an immature org, you should develop a stakeholder management plan. Identify Who they are, What they need to know and what the key messages for important stakeholders. Rank according to their Understanding and Commitment and develop a strategy for each type. And continue this through the innovation explore-exploit journey. On Failure; it happens - a lot. Prepare the ground for this. Have strategies depending on the type of failure; proposition, technology, market, timing, and organisation. I'd say, Fail Well. What can be repurposed, and learned? But don't stop

The phrase "embrace failure" is more often preached than practised in the day-to-day. The reality is that many leaders are wary of taking risks and prefer to endorse initiatives they consider safe. Experimentation is a smart way to deal with this. It's a tactical manoeuvre, a way to subtly introduce the concept of risk and learning from failures. These low-cost, quick experiments serve as a currency to gain stakeholder buy-in. Each successful experiment gradually opens doors to a more innovation-friendly mindset within the organization.

Iteration and experimentation are essential in innovation, not only to find new creative solutions but to minimize early and rapid failure. They allow for continuous refinement based on feedback, identifying and addressing weaknesses in the early stages. - Iteration: ensures that ideas evolve, incorporating lessons learned from failures, reducing the likelihood of repeating mistakes. - Experimentation enables testing hypotheses, validating assumptions, and adapting strategies before significant resources are committed. As this is a super dynamic and "living" process, it enhances adaptability, accelerates learning, and minimizes avoidable failures early in the development cycle.

The volume and speed of experiments is too low by an order of magnitude in most companies that set up innovation infrastructure. Jeff Bezos summed it up nicely when he said 'Our success at Amazon is a function of how many experiments we do per year, per month, per week, per day.' When I tell companies to run one experiment per week as opposed to one or two per year as is often the norm, they look at me funny and take two steps back. Until they establish the mindset, space and resources to really do it and witness a complete change in the way they approach and measure innovation impact. The simple reality is that in innovation, volume matters. Volume of problems, volume of ideas and volume of experiments. This is the way.

We need to innovate and test ideas against reality, against demand. Setup a waitlist for your idea, and test if there is a potential market fit. If it shows up, invest more. If it does not show up, test another idea. Iterate, iterate, iterate!

El aprendizaje validado es una capacidad innovadora de compañías con alto enfoque no solo en el cliente si no también en la mejora continua. Innovar requiere plantearse escenarios que permitan validar hipótesis de valor soportado en métricas de negocio. Aprender y aprender.

One key insight I’ve gained is the value of learning from others’ experiences. Seeking out mentors, joining communities of practice, and attending events or workshops can provide fresh perspectives and practical advice. For example, connecting with peers who faced similar challenges gave us actionable insights that we might not have considered on our own. Additionally, exploring case studies and stories of both successful and failed innovations can offer valuable lessons and inspire new approaches.

I cannot stress enough the power of the group in any aspect of life, not only when driving innovation efforts. My advice is to actively seek out mentors, coaches, or peers who have weathered similar storms or have a different perspective to offer. Joining communities of practice and networks of innovators and entrepreneurs has been a game-changer for me. Engaging in events, workshops, or webinars connected me with like-minded individuals but also gave me the little boost of energy and confidence, when I needed it. So, in short: build a network, attend relevant events, and immerse yourself in the experiences of others. Innovation is a collective journey, and the lessons learned by one can significantly benefit many.

When I worked on a drawing board in a room full of other engineers, the word was out, I would even listen to the sweepers. One time a sweeper named Joe pointed out a problem with a model I had made.

El viaje de innovar, requiere establecer un ecosistema. Y esto requiere fuentes de inspiración para crecer, aprender y replicar. Admirar e inspirarse a través de otros es muy enriquecedor. Mi recomendación es que se haga de forma ordenada (no puedes pasarte la vida en inspiración) y tengas ese networking activo de manera intencionada. Haz tu propio calendario de innovación: eventos, seminarios, desayunos y planifica el objetivo de los mismos.

If you need some guidance on your innovation journey, I highly recommend seeking out seed stage investor groups that can be found in some major cities. Many of these investors have entrepreneurial experience and/or have grown businesses or products as well. If you can get a chance to pitch your ideas, the feedback is invaluable. Within large companies, I have seen a lot of success with 'Hackathons' that let employees demo early stage ideas. Set up booths in common areas and let innovators pitch their ideas to those walking by. The conversations can lead to bursts of even more innovation!

Leaders set the tone. We once worked with a CEO who congratulated a team for what seemed like a failed innovation project. The CEO celebrated the team's quick, cost-effective experimentation, emphasizing the importance of learning and innovation. This approach not only saved significant time and money (80% savings), but also reinforced a culture that values exploration and learning from every outcome.

A failure isn't truly a failure unless you let it be the end of the road. Instead, treat each failure as a valuable lesson. When you see it as a chance to learn, it becomes something to celebrate. Make sure that with every setback, you take away something useful - a guiding light for your next steps. This approach keeps morale high and fosters the right kind of culture for your team to flourish.

Celebrating and rewarding are crucial to maintaining motivation and acknowledging effort. Celebration is vital as it recognizes successes and the hard work that leads to them. It's a moment to reflect on achievements and reinforce team spirit. Rewards are personal and vary greatly; what motivates one might not inspire another. They can range from monetary bonuses to public recognition, or even career advancement. Understanding individual preferences is essential for meaningful rewards. Sharing negative stories, or "f***-ups," is also important. It humanizes the journey to success, showing that setbacks are natural and can be learning opportunities. This transparency can encourage a resilient and open-minded workplace culture.

Celebrating successes and even small wins along the way can boost morale and reinforce a culture of innovation. One thing I’ve found helpful is recognizing not just the outcomes but the effort and learning involved. Celebrating achievements, whether big or small, fosters team cohesion and keeps everyone motivated, even when facing resistance or setbacks. It’s an important reminder that the journey of innovation is as valuable as the destination.

A workplace where employees feel inspired to try new ideas, knowing their efforts noticed, whether or not they succeed. This environment is cultivated through a thoughtful reward and recognition program. By acknowledging not only successes but also learning from failures, it encourages a culture of risk-taking and experimentation. Employees see their peers being celebrated for innovative thinking and cross-departmental collaboration, which motivates them to contribute creatively. Celebrate quick wins, no matter how small, builds momentum, making people feel more engaged and connected to the organization's innovation journey. Over time, this creates a positive, innovation-driven culture where everyone feels valued for their contributions.

The biggest hurdle in organizations striving to be more innovative is often a lack of leadership commitment to change. Leaders stuck in past successes tend to resist new approaches, which hinders innovation. To drive transformation, leaders need to embrace a growth mindset, be open to feedback, and show vulnerability by allowing themselves to be challenged and corrected. Without this openness, efforts to foster innovation will stall. Leadership must actively model the change they want to see for true progress to happen.

At the Microsoft Garage Vancouver, we don't see "failure" as the right word. Like scientists refining a hypothesis, we consider every outcome a step toward understanding. Testing hypotheses and learning from results is integral to innovation. We encourage teams to share insights openly, valuing each discovery as progress. This mindset shifts the focus from avoiding failure to embracing learning, fostering resilience, and driving continuous improvement in our innovation journey.

I've met a lot of inventors who have only one invention. While this is one more innovation than just about everyone else, not having a second innovation means that you don't have a fallback position. Why does this matter? Sometimes inventors cling stubbornly to an idea because they feel that it if they lose it then they have nothing. They may avoid criticism and feedback, pushing their one idea forward against resistance. With a few inventions, the stakes are much lower. Criticism is easier to handle, because you don't feel like you are losing everything. This makes the innovation journey a lot less stressful.

Take a step back and observe what's going on around you. Take time to figure out why the resistance is/may be there and change your approach to bring those people along. Ask questions to understand what people's drivers are and look for clues. There's a lot people won't tell you, so you have to figure it out a lot of the time. Once you have a theory about what's going on, you can change your approach accordingly

A adoção de uma governança da inovação é essencial para o funcionamento eficaz de um sistema de gestão da inovação. A governança não visa burocratizar, mas acompanhar, organizar e direcionar os esforços de forma estratégica. Uma boa governança pode ser o diferencial para o sucesso da gestão da inovação em uma empresa.