Yet another list of reasons behind failure

Lists always draw attention. There is something about a chain of items that perhaps makes reading easier -something valuable in a rapid lifestyle.

Here are 56 reasons why innovation initiatives fail in the corporate world. Some of them seem more like consequences rather than causes, others are repetitive, but I guess that 56 seemed like a good number at the time.

We could narrow them down to 22 + a 23rd: "Ideas are simplified to lists"


2. No clear definition of what "innovation" really means
3. Innovation not linked to company's existing vision or strategy
8. Senior Team not aligned
10.Innovation champions are not empowered
11. Decision making processes and evaluation of new ideas are non-existent or fuzzy
13. Risk averse culture
14. Overemphasis on cost cutting or incremental improvement
20. Too many turf wars. Too many silos.
22. Reluctance to cannibalize existing products and services
23. NIH (not invented here) syndrome
27. Mind numbing bureaucracy
29. Lack of clearly defined innovation metrics
30. No accountability for results
33. No training to promote and direct individual or team creativity
35. Inadequate sharing of best practices
36. Lack of teamwork, collaboration and communication
47. Over-reliance on technology
49. Unrealistic time frames
50. Failure to consider issues associated with scaling up
52. Failure to consider commercialization / implementation issues
54. No processes in place to get fast feedback
55. Inadequate sense of what your customers really want or need