6 Silent Productivity and Profitability Pitfalls, part 6 of 7

Silent Killer #5: Suppressing Innovation

Thanks to the bureaucracy and lack of listening that exists in most companies today, we have created working environments that stifle the creativity, original thought, and innovation that make our human capital so valuable. As such, it has become all but impossible for many organizations to adapt to our changing business world. Simply put, an organization that cannot innovate is dead; the only things missing are the inevitable funeral and suffering along the way.

Many organizations confuse the occasional ‘lightning strike’ of a new idea or product innovation with having a culture that fosters innovation. But for this to truly be the case, innovation should not be something that happens every once in a while; it should be viewed as a critical competence – a skill to be developed, fostered, rewarded, and embedded into the workforce.

[wcm_restrict]The greatest enemy of innovation is modern management. Contemporary management practices are geared toward ensuring stability and predictability, and avoiding surprises or ‘problems.’ But innovation is unpredictable, even disruptive. Thus, in many organizations, innovators are largely suppressed for the sake of ‘productivity.’ Ironically, this only kills productivity in the long run.

Shift Your Understanding

In the new business world, innovation should not be restricted to product development. We should be encouraging our teams to approach every area of the business innovatively – including customer service, processes, organizational design, marketing, and leadership. Innovation should not be something we plan to do in a brainstorming meeting; it should be an everyday occurrence – the result of a culture where people are constantly designing and redesigning the way they work, the vision they want to accomplish, and the future they want to make a reality.

An innovative organization like this can only exist when leaders are willing to embrace diversity; set aside bureaucracy; listen to the continuously changing concerns of their employees, customers, suppliers, and investors; and encourage people to do that thing that makes us more valuable than computers – think.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember]

Hi there! This article is available for free. Login or register as a StrategyDriven Personal Business Advisor Self-Guided Client by:

[reveal_quick_checkout id=”25489″ checkout_text=”Subscribing to the Self Guided Program – It’s Free!”]
 
[/wcm_nonmember]

About the Author

Chris Majer, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Human Potential Project, is the author of The Power to Transform: Passion, Power, and Purpose in Daily Life (Rodale), which teaches the strategies corporate, military, and sports leaders have used to positively transform themselves and their organizations in a way readers can adept to their own lives and professions. He may be reached at www.humanpotentialproject.com.