Pursuing innovation can propel an organization forward — but certain pitfalls stifle the creative process. Recognizing these "innovation killers" is key to a thriving culture of continual improvement.
Common Innovation Killers to Avoid
1. Having a legacy mindset over a beginner’s mindset. A legacy mindset is about how we did this before; it is the way things have always been done, rooted in the past rather than what’s possible. Also, if you are an expert in a subject and think you have seen the problem before, you may be tempted to decide quickly. There are limits if a problem has never been encountered before. It is important to enlist beginners to see how they would approach it to get fresh ideas and see potential, whereas some experts may only see obstacles.
2. Sticking to your best ideas for too long. Attachment to current successes can prevent new triumphs. You want to be willing to let go of your best ideas so something new can emerge. The iPhone rendered the iPod irrelevant, which was one of their best sellers, and that allowed for their continued dominance.
3. Saying no too early. Sometimes, engineers ask a legal team for something, and their first response is to say no to protect legal liability, but they need to balance business needs and innovation. Functions like legal, compliance, and security can move faster and avoid blocking questions such as stating why certain things can’t be done. Instead of saying no, you can say, here are our constraints; come back to me with three other ideas that you have considering these constraints. Saying why we cannot do this instead of saying what other ideas you have thought about is more helpful.
4. Running with the first idea without proper evaluation. Sometimes, teams get together, spend time iterating, and choose the idea that makes some progress. This is done without even evaluating how good the idea is. Solutions are chosen way too early; we need time for innovation.
5. Avoid Idea Robbing. Sometimes, during idea generation, people take credit for others’ ideas, which calls the process into question. People feel undervalued and frustrated. Give credit along the way to the person who came up with the idea and the ones who executed and delivered it. It should promote idea ownership.
6. Leading with your Ego. Some people will share an idea and will really want it to win even though it may not be the best. They want to get all the credit, and instead of thinking about what’s best for the team, they think about what’s best for them and their careers. It is better to follow Ray Dalio’s process of idea meritocracy. It does not matter who you are or what your title is; he is more interested in the best ideas moving forward.
7. Inefficient process. If you don’t have steps, and timing, and a clear structure and process, people will get frustrated because they won’t know what they should be doing when. Determine in advance the process: which phase is just for ideation, which phase is for decision. Who is the tiebreaker, or what is the process for escalation when there is an impasse, so we don’t have analysis paralysis on any one idea.
8. Innovation theater. Entrepreneur and Stanford lecturer Steve Blank coined this term for innovation activity — hackathons, labs, sticky-note workshops — with little real business outcome. Tells include: no decision-maker in the room who can greenlight a pilot; no kill criteria, so every idea survives; an annual cadence disconnected from real operations; and success measured in ideas generated rather than shipped. The fix doesn't need a bigger budget — it needs real authority in the room and the same discipline you'd apply to any other investment.
Innovation isn’t merely about generating ideas; it's also about fostering the right conditions for those ideas to flourish. By steering clear of innovation killers, we can create an ecosystem where creativity is cultivated, and the best ideas can thrive.
Quote of the day. "If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got." – Albert Einstein.
Reflection Question. What have you observed to be an innovation killer on any of the teams you worked on? Comment and share below; we would love to hear from you.
As a leadership development and executive coach, I work with leaders to cultivate a culture of innovation, contact me to explore this topic further.
Are you aware of team tendencies that halt innovation?