Why 95% of Attempts To Innovate And Change Fail – And What To Do About It

The natural creativity, resourcefulness, adaptability and resilience of people never ceases to amaze me. It’s inspiring and exciting to experience what people (and the organisations they’re leading or part of) are truly capable of.

Despite this potential, 95% of attempts to change and innovate in businesses fail. We could just accept that that’s the way it is – but why would we allow so much goodness and effort to go to waste if we don't have to?

Through my work I’ve been lucky enough to meet some exceptional people investing their blood, sweat, and tears; not to mention time and sometimes money to do exceptional things. What they all have in common is that they care, and that they want to make a difference to their colleagues, customers, company or the community at large.

One thing I care about is that the human brilliance that deserves to see the light of day makes the impact that it can and should make. That’s why I think it’s important to understand what gets in the way – and if you’ve read this far – I’m guessing you do too.

So let’s get to it. What gets in the way, of great stuff seeing the light of day?

1. Commitment
2. Organisational Design
3. Capability
4. Fear

Commitment:

The first reason is simply not making innovation or change a priority. This manifests as not being prepared to do what it takes to make it happen.

I have discovered that people are masterful at coming up with reasons why now is not the right time to make the necessary changes or innovate. Instead they “flirt” with change and innovation. Sometimes they have a genuine and valid reason to delay, play or dabble instead of making a commitment.

Most often though, it’s just an excuse. Another way of saying that we’re either not inspired enough, or not in enough pain yet. No time or money to innovate – phooey. There's little that can make up for indecision and lack of leadership.

Organisational Design:

Traditional organisations are designed to maintain the status quo in the interests of maximising efficiency and economies of scale. It creates an immune system that's highly effective at suffocating exceptions, change and innovation. These organisations are built on the 1850’s premise that the future is predictable and controllable, and that change can and should be managed. Newsflash – it’s not and it can’t. That truth can set you free from hierarchy, bureaucracy, moving at snail's pace, and silos.

We are living in an exponential world that operates increasingly on the principles of purpose and meaning, openness/inclusion, transparency, meritocracy, experimentation, and autonomy - within a context of trust.

As David Rose said – “ any company designed for success in the 20th century is doomed to fail in the 21st”.

Organisations which have successfully integrated modern day principles across culture, structure, and practices are outperforming their peers by a factor of 10, and naturally attract, engage and retain the best talent. They don’t have the same diversity issues that others experience such as alienating the millennials, and lack of female engagement at senior leadership levels.

The thing I find most ironical is that traditional organisations which were originally designed for efficiency tend to be significantly less efficient than those which are built to embrace and drive smart change and innovation.

Some obstacles and constraints are necessary for innovation, but rather than finding ways to survive an immune system which is attacking healthy cells – doesn’t it make more sense to repair the immune system?

And in the meantime – it can be easier and cheaper than most leaders think to clear or create an innovation pathway. It’s also possible to dramatically reduce the time it takes to move forward by adopting different decision making processes such as the advice process, or reverse accountability.

Capability

Where there is the will, there may or may not be the skill.

There needs to be capability and competency to be able to innovate and change. As soon as we talk about the tools and techniques of innovation and change we think of things like lean, agile, design thinking, market validation, customer development processes, empathy maps, business model canvas etc.

While these have a place and can add much to our ability to bring ideas to life and create new value more efficiently – they are too often viewed as a magic pill. Take one – and the pain goes away.

One thing I’ve noticed in the most leading edge and innovative organisations around the globe is that they invest heavily in developing people skills. They are focused on growing the ability of every single person to have courageous conversations, to challenge assumptions and beliefs, ask questions and be curious, to experiment, grow mindfulness, collaborate, peer coach, perspective taking, improvisation and drama, resilience, and to rapidly learn and unlearn - to name just a few.

Fear

And here is the single greatest thing that keeps us (and our organisations) where we are – FEAR.

To adopt modern day principles requires that we move beyond fear – fear of failure, fear of success, fear of loss, fear of uncertainty, fear of conflict and tension, fear of letting go of control, fear of standing out, self doubt – and so much more.

Any change or innovation initiatives that fail to recognise that we are human are destined to fail. When we are in fear we cannot think or behave expansively or creatively, and we tend to be more selfish and self-absorbed.  

Fear is what stops us from being open and inclusive, transparent, experimenting, committed, letting go of control, and supporting the very best ideas regardless of where they’ve come from.

The ultimate is to grow ourselves and our team to the point where we want to embrace and drive change. To shift our outcomes we must first shift how we see the world, and how we think. Mindset really does matter. It is a muscle that can be grown and developed.

And fear doesn’t necessarily need to disappear. It can be overcome by having a big enough reason to feel the fear and do it anyway. That’s why inspiring and clearly specified challenges, and starting with “why” are so powerful. 

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear” Nelson Mandela

So, that’s my top 4. They are not mutually exclusive. In fact they are extremely inter-dependent which isn’t surprising. Nothing exists in isolation.

Essentially my message to you is this - if your organisation is serious about increasing your chances of change and innovation initiatives succeeding then factor these 4 components into your strategy.

Thank you for reading, liking, commenting and sharing - and please do get in touch if you'd like to discuss or progress this conversation.