Successful Business Paradox on Innovation Design

Being right keeps us in place. Being wrong forces us to explore.

- Steven Johnson

Do you sometimes wonder why there is less business innovation design than you might have expected? We often hear from our clients that things are working; therefore they are reluctant to change.

In any successful organization, many things are working, or it wouldn’t be a going concern. So it’s not surprising that people want to sustain that success. That simple impulse to keep what’s working can produce decisions that can slow or halt creativity and innovation. A new idea that doesn’t quite fit with prior assumptions often is quickly set aside. Mistakes are seen as problems that must be fixed to restore the organization’s smooth functioning.

It’s all very logical and well-intended, but the effect is to resist any substantial change, gradually eroding the capacity for creative ideas and innovation and even actively opposing them.

Innovative companies understand this and take action to overcome these tendencies. They continually track their customers and competitors to quickly detect signals that may point to needed changes. Thoughtful experimentation is encouraged, not only as a way to test new ideas but to maintain the organization’s proficiency at implementing new ideas. There’s…