Inertia is the Greatest Challenge to Innovation. Here’s How to Counter it
Image Source: tomertu/AdobeStock with Generative AI Remix using Kaiber AI, with custom prompt language
Originally published on Fast Company Exec Board & Fast Company here.
Identify areas of inertia within your company and allow for a culture of experimentation to foster.
By Bill Nottingham [4 minute read]
Launched in 1997, the wildly successful video game series Age of Empires didn’t come from any of the dominant developers of that era. It came from an IT consulting company founded by brothers who were lifelong gamers. One day, they decided to try creating their own game. They put together a small team to work on it while still serving their IT clients.
The game was three years in the making, but its success transformed the company. In 2001, Microsoft acquired ES for $100 million.
I love this story because it’s a shining example of disrupting yourself. That doesn’t have to mean as radical a departure from core competencies as the Age of Empire developers; it just means positioning yourself for future growth on your own terms before competitors or shifting landscapes force change on you.
Every company can do this, but it requires a sustained effort to recognize and push back against the greatest obstacle to innovation: inertia.
Image Source: Age of Empires
In physics, inertia refers to an object’s tendency to remain on its path unless acted upon by other forces. In business, it means pretty much the same thing—and rarely do businesses benefit from being forced off course.
Our brains like routine. Routines are efficient. They help us keep down stress. Research has shown that making even simple, inconsequential decisions is mentally taxing. At work, there are added layers of stress as we consider what effect decisions will have on our careers and on the future of the company. Standing pat always feels safer.
But inertia is one of the most formidable barriers to innovation. According to the authors of a Harvard Business Review essay, “If you don’t address inertia, efforts to eliminate other blockers won’t work. Give people more time in an environment stifled by inertia and they’ll simply have more time to do things the old way; give them new skills, and those will go to waste if they don’t fit with existing routines.”
So, what can leaders do? First, learn to recognize inertia and confront it head-on anywhere you see it.
CHALLENGE THE CALENDAR
Over the course of my career, I’ve worked with hundreds of companies in a variety of industries, and it’s always amazed me how many of them put everything but essential activities on hold in July and August and from late November through early January. It’s as if we all internalized the academic calendar so deeply that we carry it through the rest of our lives.
Yes, summer is the most popular vacation season, especially for families, and everyone likes to take time off around the holidays. But leaders need to find ways to make sure momentum isn’t lost, and good ideas aren’t shelved for so long that they’re forgotten about or become obsolete. They need to make sure everyone understands there is no bad time to bring up ideas or get projects rolling.
An HBR article by Tony MaCaffrey & James Pearson
EXPERIMENT WITH YOUR PROCESSES
Do you start every new project the same way? If so, start trying new approaches.
In a Harvard Business Review essay, researchers Tony McCaffrey and Jim Pearson argue that the same iceberg that damaged the Titanic and caused it to sink could have been used as a giant life raft to save many of those who drowned in the frigid waters.
They use this claim to make a point about functional fixedness, which is our tendency to see only the features and uses of an object with which we’re already familiar. They go on to offer strategies for avoiding limited thinking: “Our ‘generic parts technique’ is a systematic way to change the way an object is described to avoid unintentionally narrowing people’s conception of it, opening them to more ideas for its uses.”
To encourage creative thinking, try starting a project with a premortem—that is, an effort to imagine what could go wrong at the very moment that team confidence and enthusiasm are high and people might keep doubts to themselves. Such an exercise encourages team members to review the plan and anticipate any potential challenges. As researchers explain, “Under this approach, the psychology is flipped, and blind support for ideas gives way to creative problem-solving.”
SHAKE UP YOUR ROSTER
Innovation is a team sport. Teams need coaches, and if you don’t already have someone in charge of innovation in your company, you should get one. That person needs two things: loud and unambiguous support from the CEO, and the patience and persistence to build buy-in. Many people are naturally suspicious of new initiatives that will disrupt their routines (inertia) and their sense of how they fit in. These requirements apply to hiring consultants and collaborating with other companies as well.
Strive for a balance of hiring from the outside and promoting from within. Ideal newcomers bring new ideas and fresh perspectives, but hiring only from outside for innovation projects may build resentment among your other employees. The appearance of a caste system will undermine all other efforts to foster a culture of innovation throughout the company. It’s hard enough to get people to speak up when they have ideas. If the response is “Thanks, we’ll take it from here,” they’ll never do it again.
Variety is a powerful antidote to boredom and burnout. Assemble teams according to what the project needs so that the team isn’t slowed down by chasing outside approvals.
We all agree that everyone loves talking about innovation because it generally means improving our lives, but it can be tough due to comments like “We’ve always done things this way.” Identify areas of inertia within your company and allow for a culture of experimentation to foster. As a team, find your first “quick win” and then constantly build upon the momentum. Ultimately, be careful what you wish for because the need for innovation will never end.