A Corporate Carol About Why You’re Not Getting Results
GUEST POST from Robyn Bolton
Last week, InnoLead published a collection of eleven articles describing the root causes and remedies for killers of innovation in large organizations. Every single article is worth a read as they’re all written by experts and practitioners whose work I admire.
I was also inspired.
In the spirit of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I gave into temptation, added my own failure mode, and decided to have a bit of fun.
The Twelve Killers of Innovation
(Inspired by the Twelve Days of Christmas yet relevant year-round)
On the twelfth day of innovating, management gave to me:
Twelve leaders short-term planning
Eleven long projects dragging
Ten cultures resisting
Nine decisions made too quickly
Eight competing visions
Seven goals left unclear
Six startups mistrusted
Five poorly defined risks
Four rigid structures
Three funding black holes
Two teams under-staffed
And a bureaucracy too entrenched to change
Want to write a happier song?
Each of the innovation killers can be fended off with enough planning, collaboration, and commitment. To learn how, check out the articles:
Twelve leaders short-term planning – 3 Examples of Why Innovation is a Leadership Problem by Robyn Bolton, MileZero
Eleven long projects dragging – Failing Slow by Clay Maxwell, Peer Insight
Ten cultures resisting – How to Innovate When Resistance is Everywhere by Trevor Anulewicz, NTT DATA
Nine decisions made too quickly – Red Light, Green Light by Doug Williams, SmartOrg Inc.
Eight competing visions – The Five Most Common Innovation Failure Modes by Parker Lee, Territory Global
Seven goals left unclear – Mitigating Common Failure Modes by Jim Bodio, BRI Associates
Six startups mistrusted – Developing a New Corporate Innovation Model by Satish Rao, Newlab
Five poorly defined risks – Strategic Innovation is too Scary by Gina O’Connor, Babson College
Four rigid structures – Corporate Innovation is Dead by Ryan Larcom, High Alpha Innovation
Three funding black holes – Failure Modes by Jake Miller, The Engineered Innovation Group
Two teams under-staffed – Why Innovation Teams Fail by Jacob Dutton, Future Foundry
And a bureaucracy too entrenched to change – Building Resilient Teams by Frank Henningsen, HYPE Innovation
How are you going to make sure that you receive gifts and not coal this year for all your innovation work?
Image credit: Pexels
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