by Charlie Widdows, on 18 Aug 2020 3 min read
We’re back with our second report on innovation blockers. Same premise, five new innovation blockers and more experts than ever!
Following the success of our 2019 report, our 2020 Innovation Blockers Report is finally here. Last year, we asked you to share your top challenges and invited a team of innovation experts to offer solutions. But our job was far from done - there were plenty more innovation blockers to tackle.
So, what is the number one obstacle to successful innovation? How can you overcome these blockers and optimise your innovation performance?
Now more than ever, businesses cannot afford to have blocks or obstacles to innovation. Our 2020 report looks at what the most problematic blockers are, and gives you all the information you need on how to successfully overcome them.
Based on our discussions with innovation experts around last year’s report, we gave you five options to choose from for 2020:
- Fear of failure
- Conflicting goals
- Lack of innovation skills
- No definition of what innovation is
- Disagreement over who owns innovation
The purpose of this report isn’t simply to tell you the findings, but to offer real, practical advice and solutions. That’s why we’ve recruited six innovation specialists to help you overcome all of these obstacles.
To get your copy of the full report, just click on the banner below.
What’s inside the report?
Here’s a little taste of what you can expect to find…
Blocker: Lack of innovation skills
Solution: Make sure you have the right culture and environment
“What are innovation skills? Does there need to be an innovation department or team? Or do we all need to “learn” to be creative, and be given the space to have ideas? A key part of this is changing the culture, as people are often told they are not creative or not an ideas person. Being creative or innovative is easier than it is made out to be, you just need the right environment.”
Johannah Randall
Blocker: No clear definition of innovation
Solution: Clarify and communicate your vision for innovation within your organisation
“Innovation is a set of skills and practices that can be codified and practised. Some people disagree: they still see innovation as being about inspirational ideas and maverick thinkers. But it definitely can and should be defined. So should the tools, methods and ways of working.
We’re also addicted to the idea that innovation is about technology, but it’s not. It’s about services, business models and, in many cases, policy and regulation.”
Tim Stiven
Blocker: Disagreement over who owns innovation
Solution: Individual projects can be ‘owned’, but innovation as a function should be inclusive and owned by many people
“The question of who is responsible for innovation in a company is a popular one. For me, it comes down to a subtle use of language and how we define ‘responsible’ in an organisation and how we assign ‘responsibility’ for the right things to the right people.”
Cris Beswick
Blocker: Conflicting goals in the organisation
Solution: Set long-term strategic goals for your team to work towards whilst assigning ownership of specific goals to ensure everyone knows who is accountable for their delivery
“This is a key challenge. All too often senior leaders are not setting the right goals to lead their teams towards a shared outcome. I’ve seen too many projects suffer because of this. A great fix is having an ‘innovation board’ that includes the executive team and CEO. Project progress is presented as well as all the barriers and conflicts. This is a great way to achieve alignment and push projects through.”
Baastian Saris
This is just a tiny sample of the full report. Download the full 2020 Innovation Blockers report today by dropping your email address in the box below.
