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Senior leaders at every company know that being able to innovate successfully is critical to their future. But too few of those leaders truly understand how to foster innovation across all segments of their organizations. Innovation is not just the purview of a few supersmart individuals walled off in an ivory tower isolated from the rest of the company. Every employee from the stockroom clerk to the senior design engineer can contribute to innovation if they believe its valuable to do so. And not every innovative idea needs to be as disruptive as the iPhone or generative AI. Even incremental innovations can add meaningful value. Companies shouldnt limit their view of innovation only to projects targeting the next big breakthrough. Open it up to a broader swath of ideas from large to small. Here are five reasons why innovation initiatives fail (and what to do about it). 1. Lack of Commitment from Senior Leadership It takes more to inspire innovation than senior leaders who give speeches to employees or highlight it in annual reports. Employees need time, resources, and support to explore ideas outside their day-to-day responsibilities. During my tenure as general manager for a tech companys communication hardware, I targeted 5% of the overall organizations time for blue-sky innovationthe phase where ideas were being initially explored. I didnt expect this to be time employees could use in secret, but rather a plan agreed upon between employees and their manager to pursue an idea. I also knew that not every idea would be successful. Rather than penalizing employees when an idea didnt work out, I used it as a learning experience to improve our ability to innovate in the future. I knew that nothing would discourage innovation more rapidly than for employees to believe their careers would be damaged if their innovative idea was not successful. 2. Employees Dont Understand Your Objectives Innovation thrives when employees understand their companys businessits mission, priorities, and core valuesand believe they can make a difference. Without this context, any useful innovative ideas they come up with will be due to little more than blind luck. Some senior leaders hesitate to share this vision. They worry that if an employee leaves to join a competitor, theyll share what they have learned with their new employer. But you dont need to share trade secrets. Think of what might be shared in a public companys annual report: information that helps employees connect their work to the broader mission. This is especially important for those who are not involved in strategic planning. Manufacturing staff or clerical personnel can have valuable innovative ideas, but they will often only share them with their managers if they think they will be supported. For example, an assembly line worker might have ideas for how to improve the manufacturing process in ways the engineers supporting that same line dont have. A manager whose response is you just worry about building the product and let us worry about innovation is killing innovation, just as surely as the senior executive who never supports it in the first place. 3. Innovation is Not Built into the Companys Plan Although this can be a problem at any company, it is especially prevalent in large, multinational corporationsthe result of something I call the curse of the corporate business model. Investors expect the company to deliver continual, predictable growth and profits. Investing in new, untried ideas that take many months or years to produce results does not align with the need to deliver predictable results. Many managers in the corporate world are reluctant to take on this risk, especially since corporate culture often penalizes failure more than it rewards innovation. This doesnt mean large companies cant be innovative; it just means innovation has to be built into the plan. Even if specific innovation projects are not yet defined at the time of the companys annual budgeting process, a commitment to innovation must still be built into the plan. How much? It depends on the industry. For a company in a well-established mainstream market, adding 10% to the businesss R&D budget for innovation projects should not draw undue attention from investors. For companies in newly emerging or high-growth markets, investors may even expect the number to be much higher. 4. Innovators Dont Understand Actual Market Needs Some people say that innovation should be done in isolation, away from the influence of customers. They point to Henry Fords alleged quote, If I had asked customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse. But that misses the point. Innovation will only be successful if it fills a true customer need. Customers can tell you their problem, but dont expect them to tell you the solution. A faster horse does not describe the customers problem; its only one idea for a solution. Instead of taking suggestions at face value, the innovators job is to get past that to understand the true problem. If Ford had probed more deeply, he may have heard that the speed of the horse was fine when it was moving, but it had to stop to rest every few miles. And a horse needed food and water every day, even when the customer wasnt going anywhere. With this insight he would have understood the customers true problem and been in a better position to be truly innovative. Fords lack of attention to customer needs wasnt a problem when he introduced the Model T because there were few alternatives, but continuing to ignore the customer is what caused Ford to lose market leadership to General Motors in the 1920s (and never recover). 5. Innovation Projects are Managed Incorrectly Innovation projects cant be managed the same way as a revenue-producing business unit. Truly disruptive innovations may take many months or years to deliver financial returns. A better approach is to structure the innovation project as an in-house startup. The project is measured not by monthly financial results, but by its ability to deliver to the metrics the team has committed to on the schedule they have promised. In the early stages, the focus should be on answering fundamental technical and market questions, so the metrics may only cover the next month or next quarter. As confidence grows and the probability of success improves, a longer-term plan can be established.
Category:
E-Commerce
When professionals tell me they want to be more confident, I usually give an answer that catches them off guard. I have no interest in helping you feel confident, I say. None whatsoever. That tends to get their attention. Especially becauseas a coach to CEOs, presidential candidates, and professionals across industriesIve seen what actually builds confidence, and its not waiting around for the right feeling to arrive. Instead, confidence is a behavior. Its something you can do. If youve ever walked out of a meeting thinking, I knew what I wanted to sayI just didnt say it right, this shift might be the key to your growth. You dont need to feel confident to sound confident. And if you learn how to do the latter, the former often follows. The real reason dont be nervous never works Theres a moment early in nearly every coaching relationship where someone tells me about a past flopan interview, a pitch, a panel presentation where they froze or rambled. Theyll say something like, I just wasnt confident, and assume the solution is to fix how they felt. But thats a mistake. Trying to improve your performance by fixating on feelings with ineffective self-talk like dont be nervous or dont think about your imposter syndrome is a textbook case of thought suppressionthe mental equivalent of telling yourself, dont think about a pink elephant. You do. Every time. Thats how the brain works. The more you try to suppress feelings of anxiety or awkwardness, the louder those feelings tend to get. Its not your fault. Its neuroscience. But it is your responsibility to approach communication differently if you want different results. You dont need inner confidence. You need outer tools. Let me tell you about Jim. Jim was a midlevel marketing executive with great ideas and terrible delivery. Hed mumble, rush, and avert his gaze any time a high-stakes moment arrived. His team loved him, but they couldnt put him in front of clients. He was passed over for leadership roles, because his physical and vocal presence screamed, I dont belong here. Jim didnt need therapy. He didnt need a new personality. He needed tools. One of them was a wine cork. Yes, a cork. Jim started practicing his key messages with a cork between his teeth; the impediment of the cork forced him to work harder to enunciate. He had to open his mouth, breathe more, and move his lips with intention. It didnt take long before something clicked: he wasnt worrying about sounding confident anymore. He was sounding confident. And just as important? His team noticed. So did his boss. Jim got promoted. What to do instead of trying to be confident Here are three tools from my book Dont Say Um that anyone can use to build communication confidence physicallynot emotionally. The first tool (the same one Jim learned) is a time-tested one that goes back thousands of years; the others are ones I invented working with executives in high-stakes communication situations over the last two decades. The Cork Drill Take a sliver of a wine cork (or a pencil, the tip of your finger, or a soft candy) and place it gently between your teeth, just on the side of your incisors. Use this object as an impediment and read aloud from a paragraph or practice a short pitch. Force yourself to enunciate as expressively as needed to enunciate every syllable. Then take the impediment outand notice how much clearer and more resonant you sound. The Lego Drill This drill is about building your tolerance for silencea key behavior of exuding confidence. Grab a few Lego (or Duplo) blocks and place them on your desk. Pick one up, and while holding it, speak one complete thought. When you finish that thought, place the block down in silence. Only after the block is clicked into place can you pick up the next one and deliver your next thought. This simple, tactile ritual forces you to pause, breathe, and reset between thoughts. It trains you to slow down and get comfortable with the kind of deliberate silence that powerful speakers know how to wield. Because when you stop filling every gap with um or nervous rambling, you actually have time to evaluate what you want to say and what your audience needs to hear. Silent Storytelling One of the quickest ways to unlock free and released gestures is to tell a story with your bodywithout saying a word. Try to explain how you make coffee in the morning, or what your commute looks like, or what happened yesterday at workbut do it without making a sound. Mouth the words, allow expressions on your face, and move your hands as expressively as necessary to communicate your ideas, but do so silently. (You can think of this like being muted on TV.). Youll find your hands and face moving naturally describing shape, motion, sequence, or scale. Thats silent storytelling. It bypasses self-consciousness and trains the body to express clearly, without overthinking. When you do speak again, your gestures will feel more connected, less stiff, and more expressivenot because you got them right, but because you got out of their way. Confidence isnt a prerequisite for good communication. Its often the result. So stop trying to feel confident. And start doing what communicators do when they feel confident.
Category:
E-Commerce
As the creator economy continues to grow, brand trips have become a staple marketing strategy for consumer-facing brands, and B2B firms are starting to do the same. Adobe Express hosted a Summit in New York City for 46 creators. As an Adobe Express ambassador, I attended this summit, which focused on marketing and business, covering travel accommodations and offering early product updates, feedback sessions, and networking opportunities. Similarly, Semrush hosted an influencer weekend in 2024 for nearly a dozen creators in London paying for their travel, meals, and experiences. Just like their consumer-focused counterparts, these B2B companies hope hosting creators at exclusive events will lead them to speak highly of the brand, earn them positive coverage, and act as a source of real-time feedback. The big difference with B2B creators is that purchasing decisions in the workplace are often costly. As a result, there is a more nuanced and complex consideration. Brand trips are an emerging tactic in the B2B space. Heres how companies are doing it, the outcomes theyre driving, and the lessons that we can learn from companies hosting them. Why brand trips for B2B creators are gaining popularity The creator economy is expected to exceed, $2.71 trillion in revenue by 2037, according to Research Nester. This is because many influencers have become trusted voices who drive sales, even in complex B2B buying cycles. Opportunities for a brand to connect with relevant creators in person are a way of earning face time and introducing them to the team and product line. It also provides them with motivation and ways to collaborate, as well as hearing feedback from opinionated supporters. Nicole Ponce, Influencer Marketing Team Lead at Semrush says, Theres been a noticeable shift where B2B brands are adopting B2C-style engagement tactics, and brand trips are one of them. Substack and LinkedInwhere I teach marketing development and career development courseshave noticeably prioritized creators, encouraging everyone from CEOs and executives to industry experts and emerging voices to share content consistently. As LinkedIn is growing, B2B creators are starting to be a group of folks you can’t ignore, especially if your product is looking to target the B2B space, says Kate Olmstead, Adobe Express Community & Ambassador Programs Lead. Five years ago, we didn’t have this concept, really of top voices in marketing. LinkedIn creators with 250,000 followers, speaking to the likes of CMOs and VPs of marketing, says Olmstead. How to create a B2B brand trip where both sides benefit Establish what the focus of the event is, whether its the launch of a new product, a discussion on industry trends, or a celebration of a major milestone. It depends on the event, but typically well incorporate either a demo, product insight, or a workflow preview to spark interest. Sometimes its through more curated, two-way conversations, where we share whats launching and invite feedback from creators about what they need or see missing in the market, says Ponce. Typically, companies cover the creators travel accommodations, meals, and experiences in exchange for the creator posting on social media. Neither Adobe nor Semrush required posting to attend, which likely removed pressure for participants (who are likely to share on their own if they enjoyed the event). Olmstead says that Adobes trip aimed to introduce like-minded creators, offer early exposure to new features, and provide a forum for candid feedback. What also likely helps the creators buy in is the association with a big, well-known brand like Adobe. This boosts their careers as influencers and also provides the opportunity to network with others and the chance to stay in an appealing city for free. Invite creators based on relevance and consistency over reach Inviting a mix of creators across platforms, titles, career paths, and audience sizes can help ensure theres interesting conversation as long as theres a set of shared interests. I personally look at whether they create highly engaging, high-quality content and whether their audience is one that our brand wants to be associated with. But its not just about reach or follower count. We also look at how much value they bring to the roomand I mean that literally, says Ponce. We try to curate a space that fosters meaningful, peer-to-peer conversations. So we intentionally balance different expertise levelsfor instance, having a content marketing specialist alongside someone who focuses on paid advertising, she added. Create balanced programming thats educational and entertaining While its important that the brand benefits from hosting a group of creators, its important not to make the agenda too self-promotional or jam-packed. There needs to be room for fun. While the creator expects to learn about the companys products, its also important to be clear on how the event benefits them. You’ve got to have substance to [a brand trip], whether that be through the learning agenda, the educational content, or giving something back to them, in terms of bringing an industry expert that can help them level up their own businesses, adds Olmstead. Brand trips that strike the balance deliver qualitative outcomes like the attendees leaving with a positive impression of the brand, as well as quantitative impacts like social mentions and reach. You might just find that your business benefits.
Category:
E-Commerce
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