Many companies have only one or two products or services that were considered innovative when they were released. Few have many. Some have none. Why is that? In part, it has to do with the culture of a company. Companies that embrace design-thinking, and value experimentation and action above planning and talk tend to produce more innovative solutions. However, most companies have cultural barriers that inhibit the design of creative solutions. Here are five key cultural barriers that tend to get in the way of innovation:
- Culture of “Approval” – belief that the best answers are high-up in the organization, where people need to get tops-down guidance on what solutions need to be
- Culture of “Planning” – strict adherence to a plan, requiring perfect vision from the start
- Culture of “Correct” – with the belief that there is, in fact, one right answer
- Culture of “Committee” – where everyone must be on-board for things to move forward
- Culture of “Talk” – where employees are encouraged to tell others what their ideas are and why they are good before acting
The culture of approval comes about from two sources: childhood experience and business experience. Childhood is full of examples where the person higher in status (or age) has the right answers... parents, teachers, coaches... if you get approval from those sources, you are doing well. If you do not get their approval, you are "bad". The business experience comes from the war stories of those executives and managers that have had similar experiences, successes and failures in the past. Keeping in mind George Santayana's famous quote, "those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it", we are persuaded to put undo importance on the approval of those who have recognized experience in the area. In both cases, it is wise to learn from those knowledgeable sources. However, just because these people are in positions higher up in an organization, does not mean that they have the right answers all of the time. Especially when it comes to changes in the way we do or think about things. For example, Ken Olsen, president and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, was known to have said "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." Leaders do not necessarily have better vision into the future, so a culture of approval can kill off really radical new ideas far too easily.
The culture of planning comes about from lessons learned from NOT planning. Without plans, projects tend to flounder and get out of control. The output of projects without planning tends to be incomplete or bad. The problem comes about when teams are too focused on the plan, rather than the ultimate outcome. If you want to build an airplane, you will be able to do so if you follow the plan. But, if you want to build a new, effective means of flying... you may not build an airplane at all. It isn't that plans are bad at all... it's just that you need to be clear on what it is that you are aiming for. Most successful startups actually started building things other than what they became famous for... their plans changed when they realized opportunity elsewhere. For example, PayPal started off as a mobile encryption company... but turned to web payments when it was clear that they'd found a medium with much more traction than their original thought. Similarly, Flickr started off as a gaming company, but ended up with one of the best photo sharing sites around!
The culture of correct is one that comes from math. In math, there is a correct answer. Any other answer is wrong. Math is about the only area that is so absolute... but we grow up thinking that there are absolute answers elsewhere. Since there is only one right answer, you need not look for alternatives. In product design, however, it is not clear that there is, necessarily, a right answer. One approach may be better than another... but sometimes multiple approaches can solve the problem well. For example, both airplanes and helicopters fly. When it comes to inventing new things, looking for the one "right" answer can inhibit your exploration.
The culture of committee comes from a deep respect for the other employees, and the belief that everyone may have important contributions. The problem is that getting "buy in" from all of the relevant parties before actually trying stuff out can be a huge waste of time. It may become clear right away that something is or isn't a good approach once a team moves forward with testing out the idea. When committees are involved in design, all kinds of inconsistencies and feature creep can occur. Think about Congress... most laws that get passed these days have multiple layers of laws that don't actually have anything in common with the legislation that's being passed. Wikipedia states: "The defining characteristics of "design by committee" are needless complexity, internal inconsistency, logical flaws, banality, and the lack of a unifying vision." It is sad when a great idea is smothered in mediocre ones...
The culture of "talk" is difficult to overcome. It comes about for many of the prior cultural reasons. Intuit is particularly fond of the PowerPoint Presentation method of pitching ideas. The problem is that telling is not as useful or accurate as showing. Think about the Nintendo Wii. It is a solution that you can talk about in a power-point deck: "Instead of focusing on the visual design, we'll focus on the interaction between the user and the machine." Or, you can show it: "try swinging the tennis racket! When people rely on making decisions from stated ideas, rather than on proof of concept or experiences, it makes it more likely that they will overlook or dismiss the absurd, unique, innovative approaches.
Addressing these inhibiting corporate cultures head-on can lead to effective changes that can allow innovative, creative ideas to flourish.
