Seven Ways to Introduce Innovation Into Your Company
By Steven L. Blue
The reason innovations fail is not because of technology. It’s never about the technology. Innovations fail because of people. The people who might employ a new technology may not be sold on it. Or they might be afraid of it. Or they might feel threatened by. Welcome to the dark side of innovation.
However, the biggest threat to a new innovation your company is trying to develop will be your own people. This threat comes in one of several forms, and sometimes in all of them. First, your people may want to cling to the old tried and true. As false as it is, tried and true gives people comfort. Or they may not want to cannibalize an existing product with a newer technology. Often your people will feel threatened by a new innovation because they think it will outdate their skills and therefore their jobs.
When you are introducing innovation into your company, you have to neutralize these threats. Here is seven ways to introduce innovation into your company:
Steven L. Blue is the President & CEO of Miller Ingenuity, an innovative company revolutionizing traditional safety solutions for railway workers, and author of the new book, American Manufacturing 2.0: What Went Wrong and How to Make It Right. For more information, please visit www.SteveBlueCEO.com, www.milleringenuity.com and connect with Blue on Twitter, @SteveBlueCEO.
