Companies are Afraid of Innovation
Many companies got to the top through a culture of innovation , as they were not afraid of thinking differently, changing, or criticizing. However, once there it appears that such a culture is
Your company built its name on pushing boundaries. You weren’t afraid to tear down an old process or challenge a market assumption. But once you hit a certain revenue mark, or hired that 12th person, something shifts. The drive for innovation, once a core engine, becomes a tagline on the ‘About Us’ page. It feels like a betrayal of what got you here.
No fear of failure, but fear of criticism
You built a reputation. Now, the fear isn’t failing; it’s being blamed for it. It’s the sting of public criticism. Think about any artist or restaurant that hits big: their next move faces a harsher spotlight. The audience expects more. That higher bar means more chances for disappointment, and more public backlash.
Often the fact that chief executives can’t quantify this new thing becomes an excuse for their not doing the thing they’re most afraid of embracing, says Owens, author of Creative People Must Be Stopped: 6 Ways We Kill Innovation (Without Even Trying)
The “new thing” here is the very thing that made them successful in the first place.
As they grow companies forget about innovation
As a company grows, it plays it safe. The drive for innovation shrinks as the org chart expands. Every new hire seems to dilute the pool of change-makers. You stop hunting for raw talent and instead recruit for specific task-doers. You want someone who already knows how to do exactly what you need, no more, no less.
You don’t give them room to generate new ideas, or improve processes. They’re not hired to push boundaries. They’re hired to replicate what they did elsewhere. These employees don’t spark change. Their work offers no challenge. They won’t learn new skills. They’ll just do what they’re told, for as long as they stay. It’s a system where more people get paid more to do less.
Why innovators are a problem for other employees?
Why do these new hires sideline innovative ideas? Simple: innovation demands change. The employees you bring in once the company is established don’t seek change or risk. They want stability.
Look at Garrett Camp, founder of StumbleUpon. He sold the company to eBay in 2007. Two years later, in 2009, he bought it back. Camp told Inc.com that at eBay, “I had a boss, but I still managed all the product engineering. The day-to-day flow wasn’t that different. But we weren’t getting the same people to apply to join. We were seeing people who were looking for a conservative, stable job rather than something with a lot more risk and upside.”