barriers to innovation (steve baty at enterprise ux 2016)

Barriers to Innovation

Steve Baty (@docbaty)

Principal, Meld Studios

Enterprise UX, June 8-10, 2016

Meld Studios | Steve Baty | @docbaty


We want to see problems from a fresh perspective; come up with fresh ideas; and for the best ideas to be tried and tested...


Personal barriers


Loss of autonomy• innovation (and change) are

forced on the team• I may no longer be in control


Loss of mastery• the things that I’ve worked

to be good at over the years may no longer be valued

• I may no longer be capable


Loss of purpose• we’re not going to be the

same company any more• we no longer exist to do

something I care about


Lack of empathy• I just don’t care about our

customers or co-workers enough to work through these barriers

• It just doesn’t feel like a big problem


Lack of energy• This is not the first time

we’ve tried ‘The Next Big Thing’;

• There is more than one ‘transformation’ program


I have a day job• and that’s the thing that pays

the bills...• ...and I’m good at it.


The turkeys don’t vote for Thanksgiving


Inter-personal & team barriers


Mis-aligned on scale• The team think they’re

solving problems at different levels of ‘zoom’


Mis-aligned on scope• The team think the

boundaries of their problem are different


Mis-aligned on objectives• The team have different

ideas as to what success looks like


It’s not that it’s a bad idea...• ... it’s that I don’t like you


It’s not that you have a bad idea...• ... it’s that mine is better


It may not be the best idea...• ... but it’s the only one I’ve

had.


Organizational barriers


What’s our ROI?• Project funding requires a

business case long before ideas have been explored (or the problem clearly defined)


What do you mean...• ... you don’t know what

problem we’re solving?


We have invested millions building our capability...• ... and you want to throw it all

away.


That’s an awful lot of barriers...


As an approach to innovation, Design helps to:• let people be in greater

control of their future• practice new skills along the

way• define a new purpose

together


As an approach to innovation, Design helps to:• separates the individual

(and their ego) from the idea, letting ideas be combined, refined, discarded more readily and objectively


As an approach to innovation, Design helps to:• progressively build

confidence in an idea through testing, and increase investment to match


As an approach to innovation, Design helps to:• explore multiple concepts

in parallel so that they can be assessed on merit, rather than opinion and politics


As an approach to innovation, Design helps to:• integrates the customer into

the process

Meld Studios | Steve Baty | @docbatyhttp://216.70.115.200/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/BCK-951-BS_F3.jpg

Thank you

Steve Baty

Principal, Meld Studios
