BOF 3.0 – Innovation Fatigue Session
The second of the Brightidea Birds of a Feather (BOF 3.0) unconference discussion sessions I attended posed the question – Is there such a thing as innovation fatigue?
Here are some of the key insights and comments from the session:
- You can’t run people in crisis mode forever. If you create an innovation panic, your people and organization will get innovation fatigue.
- How can you throttle up and down both the top and bottom of the innovation funnel?
- Sometimes you accumulate too many ideas to develop, and other times you don’t have enough.
- Any innovation approach should pay attention to the pacing and have learning built in (a feedback loop)
- How much change can people handle?
- Should innovation be part of the regular job for everyone in the organization?
- Should you have an annual innovation plan?
- Would more than two innovation jams per year be too much?
- Should ideation really be fully separate from implementation?
- Is it possible for people to not have enough time to innovate AND to have innovation fatigue?
- If the cynicism starts, you’re in trouble. Innovation efforts have to show tangible results to receive continued support.
- It can be empowering to line managers to have someone owning and driving innovation.
Overall for me the key takeway was that a structured approach to innovation is needed that clearly lays out:
- Why innovation is important and that it is never ‘done’
- The organization’s innovation strategy and goals (yes they are different)
- The organization’s innovation policies and processes
- The employees’ role in innovation, how to contribute, and why to contribute
- How progress will be measured and results will be communicated
What are your thoughts or experience?
More from the Brightidea Birds of a Feather (BOF 3.0):
Braden Kelley is the editor of Blogging Innovation and founder of Business Strategy Innovation, a consultancy focusing on innovation and marketing strategy. Braden is also @innovate on Twitter.
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