Every company wants to be innovative, but there are things you may be unwittingly doing that could be stifling innovation.
In his new book, “Relentless Innovation: What Works, What Doesn’t – And What That Means for Your Business,” Jeffrey Phillips notes that poor planning, budgeting, scheduling and talent management are among the obstacles that could be holding your company back.
While you need to ensure that essential operations are covered, there are a number of things you can do beyond that to make sure your business has the capacity to grow. Among them:
Numbers aren’t everything. In the rush toward data-driven management, don’t leave out qualitative analysis.
Don’t fear the unknown. Innovation thrives on the unforeseen, not the predictable. But that doesn’t mean you should avoid good planning and guidance.
Don’t be too lean and mean. Make sure your startup isn’t so lean that there’s no personnel or budget for innovation. And reward innovation with financial incentives.
Adapted from Ten Enemies of Innovation at CIO Insight.