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):

• BOF 3.0 – Ruffle Your Innovation Feathers
• BOF 3.0 – Culture of Innovation Session

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.