In my career I’ve come across many types of issues that keep organizations from being innovative. Usually the biggest culprits are risk aversion and inertia. It’s one reason why so many organizations go to outside consultancies to help drive innovation. The outsiders have nothing to lose and by their nature are in constant motion.
But as we know. Many types of innovation require deep cultural change throughout an organization. Cultural change is hard for the previous two reasons. Culture often has structures specifically to slow change down. Think about to. It wouldn’t be much of a culture if it was in constant change. Very little if anything would define it as much of a culture. There would be no common language for example. Where would a corporate culture be if the TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) meant something different from one moment to the next (yes, why you have TLAs is a problem, too).
For the first time in some 20 years of design practice I’ve finally recognized 2 particular guardians of culture that are embedded in cultures that cannot innovate well. The first are taboos. You know? That think in the Brady Bunch Hawaii episode that kept bringing them bad luck, right? Yes, and no. Taboos are topics that can’t be discussed. The old adage of not talking religion & politics in mixed company is a great example.
The other one that I’ve felt for a long time but finally put my finger on is equating criticism with personal judgement, which in essence makes critique a form of a taboo. This also often takes the form of a culture that feels more like the state department or an episode of House of Cards than a place that is truly open and ripe for new ideas, failure and criticism.
But there are other types of taboos. Sacred Cows are often taboos that we praise. These are taboo because they are sacred; ergo, it would be sacrilege to counter them. Does your organization have any Sacred Cows? Are there sayings or phrases that permeate the organization that can never be countered even in a creative session?
It’s not that Sacred Cows and other taboos don’t have value. They do. For example, most obviously, they help sustain and transmit culture. However, all cultures do change. They evolve and corporate cultures unlike cultures in wider society have to change to survive. More importantly, they have to change to innovate. If your company cannot even allow the possibility of dreaming of a world without its Sacred Cows you won’t have the freedom to be creative.
This also brings us back to the other taboo—criticism or just generally the idea of protecting people’s feelings. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that being mean is acceptable, but often we connect challenging people’s ideas and work history as the same thing as delegitimizing the person and the value they bring. This is further from the truth. When we can’t look back at work done and honestly judge the work against previous and newly accepted criteria we keep the brakes on the organization, preventing it from moving forward.
All of these come down to a single tenant of the innovative organization: Freedom of Speech. We cannot create, we cannot explore, we cannot change fast enough to keep apace w/ the market pressures of the post-industrial age.
Ok, so this is the problem, but what about the solutions. It is not just easy to pop a cork and let it all hang loose. It’s not easy, and it is not fair to everyone. You need to build. You need to figure out ways to set new expectations. You have to lead by example. Honestly, this is a top-down process where the leadership of an organization need to start speaking not just w/ humility, but with self-criticism. They have to invite further criticism and judgement and not just among their leadership circle. They need to engage in healthy criticism with their immediate circle but in a visible/transparent way thru the organization so that the entire organization can see there is safety. Middle management in areas of creativity and innovation can start now, by thinking of themselves as the top protector and create a similar line of open dialog to engage their organization.
“But I’m just an underling at the very bottom of the totem pole. What can I do? What can be done?” Awesome! that you want to make changes. Be the change. Demonstrate to peers that you are open to judgement and that it is ok. Show how critique moves you forward together as a team. Create moments with those in your most immediate group where everyone talks about where they need help, about what they’ve done wrong. Be the change, show the way, demonstrate upward the power of free speech, critique and transparency. Experiment, explore, make.
In the end, anything that limits the conversation, keeps people from thinking differently, from thinking alternatively, from countering previously held sacred beliefs, or protecting previous attempts from judgement will keep innovation from moving forward. If you are in a position where you feel secure enough to call these things out in your organization, I suggest you do so. If your organization cannot handle your voice, I suggest you re-think you ability to be a valuable contributor in that organization, whether it is actually ready to do the things necessary to keep up in today’s business landscape, and just plainly whether it is the right place for you. If you are a creative professional, the world is your oyster right now. You are far from trapped (barring individual unique situations), so either make the environment you need, or find an environment that is open to change or is already set up to be one where you can succeed. CREATE!