From experience and ongoing business innovation research, there are fairly common situations blocking business innovation across companies. No company has all of these business innovation roadblocks, but the presence of just a couple of barriers will scuttle the most modest dreams of implementing a business innovation program to create value for customers.

None of these business innovation NO's are insurmountable, so it's important to understand what causes each of them and some steps to navigate around them and get business innovation going.

1. NO Knack for Innovation

There simply isn't an orientation toward business innovation. It may be a mature industry, a company that's had success with an intense focus, one that's grown through M&A, or has been burned on previous formal innovation efforts. Whatever the reason, innovation doesn't appear to be in the company's DNA.

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2. NO Direction

Without a top-level mandate for innovative change, it's tough for a business innovation-oriented culture to flourish. It could be that innovation is outside the company's vision, there's no upper management champion, or a lack of alignment stands in the way of innovation efforts.

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3. NO Rocking the Boat

There's an unmistakable signal from management (whether it's uttered directly or not): "If it isn't broken, don't mess with it. We're not interested in risk taking; let's just maintain the status quo." These messages make it clear that good things don't await those interested in exploring new approaches or trying to do things in different ways.

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4. NO Talent Pool

The company may have convinced itself the right people aren't in place to make innovation happen. It could be a perceived lack of "creatives" or "outside the box" thinkers. More likely though, it's a failure to get people with diverse perspectives together and let them work. It's more about diverse talent not working together than not having the right talent in the first place.

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5. There's NO Tomorrow

This NO springs from the conviction things will be won or lost in the short term, so there's little need for long term business innovation development. Or it may be there's no patience for protracted realization of opportunities. If a business innovation is going to be pursued, it needs to be developed and start paying out by the next quarter. In a challenging business economic environment, this sentiment becomes more prevalent.

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6. NO Resources

As with a "no tomorrow" view, lowered interest in applying resources to business innovation may be more acutely felt right now. The absence of specific resources can be broad, including management attention, available time, and investment dollars. Without these vital inputs, innovation stalls or never takes off in the first place.

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7. NO Motivation to Innovate

Something's lacking that dampens an internal drive to innovate. It could be an environment that doesn't promote cooperation, no opportunity to receive credit for your effort, or a lack of other meaningful incentives to bring ideas forward and develop them. The net result is that innovation isn't happening as naturally as it might.

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8. NO Process

There are instances where innovation appears to emanate naturally from within an organization. Chances are though that it's been cultivated and developed through a process, even if it's a relatively small scale and informal one. Without some type of planning and organized means to realize innovation, barriers and bureaucracy can easily block new ideas from coming to fruition.

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9. NO Implementation Success

Innovative ideas and concepts are cool, but only have value ultimately if they lead to successful implementation and deliver benefits for the intended audience. There are various roadblocks to successful implementation, including flaws in how ideas are recommended, prioritized, developed, and marketed to target audiences. With all those potential challenges, it's a wonder anything new actually takes place!

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10. No Measures

It's difficult to sustain a formal business innovation strategy without metrics in place to report return on investment (ROI), showcase positive improvements, and troubleshoot issues. Even earlier in the innovation process, the absence of metrics makes identifying and prioritizing innovation opportunities a shot in the dark. Simply put: no metrics = no hope of long term innovation success.

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All the best to you in addressing the specific NO's you face at work that stand in the way of business InNOvation.

If you'd like more information on exploring the personal perspectives you need to approach your whole life more innovatively, you can download an eBook version of "Taking the NO Out of InNOvation." It's a great companion on your mission to bring business innovation to life!  – Mike Brown

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