What are the most common challenges to driving innovation in your organization?

Here are nine everyday struggles I found from my experience and after interviewing corporate innovators. I dedicate some chapters to each in my coming book -Corporate Innovation Puzzle. ➀ Strategic misalignments: Change requires the cooperation of the entire company. ➁ Leadership conflicts ➂ Finding the right talent ➃ Motivating employees: Innovators want security and the flexibility to implement their ideas. ➄ The resources bottleneck: make-or-break factor in any project’s completion. ➅ Half-hearted effort: treating innovative ideas as afterthoughts limited resources and time. ➆ Sticking to the traditional ways: “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” ➇ Resistance against change ➈ The gap between ideas and implementation. Cheers 🚀

It is important to understand the perception of innovation of internal areas and c-levels. In addition, innovation goals, kpis, strategic drivers, innovation culture actions help in these challenges.

Fear of failure. Want results even before a demo or a prototype is displayed. Lack of leadership - plenty. Resistance to change, overcoming resource limitations, and improving communication and collaboration are crucial for driving innovation in organizations. By fostering a culture that embraces change, strategically allocating resources, and promoting effective communication, organizations can create an environment conducive to continuous innovation.

The bridge between your organization's vision and its innovation strategy is built on clear, actionable innovation criteria, secured through common agreement with key stakeholders. You need commit to continuous assessment and realignment of both new and ongoing projects, so that your strategy not only exists on paper, but also actively contributes to realizing your vision.

Innovation , has been a buzz word The meaning, purpose/strategy/motive of innovation is not communicated enough or enlightened about to the rest of the organisation. Designing the innovation strategy and clearly communicating to the teams, sessions on innovations can inspire others to think creatively to generate innovative ideas which are aligned to the the overall organisation strategy. Then though the idea has not much impact or benefit still it does not deviate or the innovative efforts go in vain.

Change management strategies - ADKAR-(Awareness, Desire, knowledge, ability, reinforcement) models can solve this. Just communicate WIFM (what's in it for me) to the teams to motivate them to adhere to changes. Design a model with a proper study about what motivates your team while empathising with them and work out a proper plan so it is a win-win for both business and the affected stakeholders.

Um exemplo que ja presenciei muitas vezes é o receio da média-liderança com a inovação. Muitas vezes essas pessoas se sentem ameaçadas e acabam por não incentivarem a busca por inovação e novas soluções. Entendo que um caminho possível e essencial seja a educação desses profissionais para mostrar que a inovação é uma alavanca para os resultados e não um ladra de funções

Contrary to common belief, resistance to change is not inherent in people. We navigate through changes continuously, as evidenced by reflecting on our personal histories. The key challenge lies in aligning change with individual goals. Without recognizing the personal value of change, transformation becomes significantly difficult.

When different departments or teams operate in isolation and fail to collaborate, it creates barriers to sharing ideas and knowledge. Innovation thrives on cross-functional collaboration, but a silo mentality can impede the flow of information and hinder the adoption of new ideas.

Even when team members are willing to participate, breaking down silos effectively requires a clear understanding of their availability. Despite a commitment to resource allocation, the challenge often lies in ensuring team members are not already overcommitted. Overloaded schedules can significantly hinder the progress of innovation initiatives. Therefore, proactive planning is essential to secure the availability of necessary personnel, avoiding reliance on ad-hoc assignments that can disrupt innovation momentum.

Limited budgets, manpower, or time can restrict the organization's ability to invest in research, development, and experimentation. Lack of resources may force teams to focus on short-term goals rather than long-term innovation projects.

Executing a well-designed and thoroughly documented innovation process can be challenging without clearly defined responsibilities and the appropriate personnel. This ambiguity and lack of expertise can lead to delays or failure in converting promising initiatives into valuable outcomes. Therefore, it's crucial to address key questions early in the process: Who will be accountable for this product or offering, and do they possess the requisite expertise? What specific tasks will fall under this individual's purview? Answering these questions is essential for establishing the necessary governance framework to effectively manage and execute innovation initiatives.