7 wrong expectations about Innovation
In the past, Innovation was seen as a prerogative of few.
In our days becomes a “feature” of everyone.
Everything in our life, person, thing, emotion and concept we “dress” very nicely with expectations. Expectations that many times are just misleading us as they are nothing more than mind projections. Very individual and subjective but are powerful enough to make us love or hate a thing.
Moreover, Innovation seems the Wonderland of Today, where the individuals are happy and the companies productive. That’s the way they sell this concept to us.
Still, if it’s so much “gold” there, why not everyone, person or company, is just only running for it?
The answer is simple: besides gold, there is something else these PR campaigns show us unintentionally. These other things are building the self-expectations related to Innovation, making this area simply inaccessible or unaffordable for everyone.
Let’s see some of these self-expectations and also ways to overcome them.
1. Innovation must be “wow”, “new”, “amazing”, “unleashing my passion”.
As you can imagine, when “the superpower” innovation ability is placed on the Moon, and you are a humble man leaving on Earth, only to start thinking that it is possible to achieve it, it’s a very courageous gesture, and not many would do.
Back to Earth: Innovation means to bring small step improvements, IN ANYTHING, in your job, in your life, in your relationships, etc. After doing these short steps, you will be prepared for the next level and another step.
2. Innovation needs time.
This sentence has a lot to do with the previous expectation, that Innovation is a “big” thing. Otherwise why would require such an amount of time?
As this is really the killer expectation in regards to Innovation, one suggestion for you is to change the position in viewing this subject.
Start the Innovation with you and around you. Innovate your life routines, your relationships, your time management, and so on. Meaning, I challenge you to think about how Innovation could actually free your time, daily.
3. Go to school first! Innovation needs super knowledge.
Do you need a teacher? What for?
Innovation and knowledge act together in a strange way. Experts hardly find innovation opportunities for their areas, while outsiders hardly find needs of improvements. That means everyone can contribute… if he/she wants.
To start the innovation journey with a learning process means “forget about it”. To learn requires time, to really know requires experience that means more time.
So, here is the hint, if you need super knowledge, team up with the required experts, don’t start by becoming one.
4. Innovation means failing a lot.
Failing is, once again, a perception. It means I have an expectation about the destination, and I just miss it. Innovation is not about failing, Innovation is about learning how to continue, inspecting, and adapting, not only the target but also the expectation about the destination.
Make sure that you continuously have realistic next steps and inspirational/aspirational end target.
What about the expectations of the companies in regards to Innovation?
They start with individual expectations of various stakeholders and decision-making people, melted in a magic formula, in a company context.
The “Wonderland” Innovation makes the companies turn to this promising area suddenly, over the night, without any preparation. Which are the big hopes placed into such transformation?
5. Innovation to bring results, innovative products now, to concur additional market share.
For the companies with a long history, the turn to Innovation is, first of all, a cultural change and then an output change.
Try to make a big truck to go out of the ditches on a forest road. It will be hard and in some cases, impossible. The same for the companies. As more significant are the organisations, as more extensive history they have, the ditches formed by rules, procedure, and culture are deeper.
The culture additionally can be compared with the skills the animals have. If the management team would expect that the company to jump as a kangaroo and until now just walked like an elephant, most probably another animal is needed. So, this other animal has to be born and grown. And this takes time.
Other 2 things I see essential for shortening the time:
- Be honest when you identify “the animal” your organisation is, in this way, the struggle will be less.
- If you want fast an innovative product, buy it, or develop it, in a new team.
6. Innovation will cost something, but not too much.
Actually, it costs, sometimes, a lot. Why so?
Cultural change takes years, personal development must be considered, personnel turnover, the more advanced one will become most probably will leave the company, not being willing to wait for results.
So, be prepared for the right cost.
7. The innovation culture will be welcomed by everyone.
Cool down! Only some are just excited, even not the entire management team. Start from this point and apply all the best practices of change management.
The reasons for happening this less entrancement of the new direction are many: from missing clarity on destination and the duration of the change, everything is on top of what everyone already does, fears of the employees, concerns in the leadership team. Additionally, the destination is seen as a promised land by optimists, like an uncertainty by realists and like “nowhere” land by a pessimist.
My personal belief is that all of us were born having survival tool named Innovation. Even our education, taught us how to “survive” in almost every single common situation, each of us has Innovation toolbox inside, ready to be used.
