Ever notice how fear can slow us down?

𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴. 🚦

Steve Blank nailed it in his article about this very issue: https://steveblank.com/2015/03/11/fear-of-failure-and-lack-of-speed-in-a-large-corporation/

Why does this happen? 

𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲. 🚢

→ Companies become riskaverse, worrying more about maintaining status quo than innovating.

𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘂𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆: 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿. ⏳

→ By the time a new idea gets the green light, it’s outdated.

𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲: 𝗡𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 '𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽.'

→ This mindset suppresses creativity and innovation.

Imagine driving a car with the emergency brake on. You’ll move, but not at the speed you desire. In my 30 years of experience, I’ve seen how this fear can be a company's downfall.

But there's hope! Here's how to push the pedal:

→ 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.

↳ Encourage experiments and celebrate small wins.

→ 𝗙𝗹𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝘆.

↳ Speed up decisionmaking by empowering teams.

→ 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸.

↳ Treat it as a stepping stone, not a stumbling block.

Senior leaders, here’s your challenge: Are you ready to shift gears and accelerate innovation? Let’s not just talk about it. Let’s do it.

What's one thing you can change today to overcome the inertia? Share your thoughts below or on LinkedIn!

(picture of our labs)