STOP Performing Innovation Theater

If I could deliver one message to managers, executives, politicians, and organizations, it would be to STOP performing innovation theatre!
As someone who has witnessed the rise and fall of countless companies, I can confidently say that one common factor for leaders and organizations that fail in their innovation efforts is opting to perform innovation theatre rather than doing the hard work of genuine, authentic innovation.
Today, I'm diving into the smoke and mirrors of innovation theatre. I'll be sharing some examples, the colossal risk it creates, and how you can spot it.
Timeline
00:00 Opening
02:07 Definition of Innovation Theatre
03:18 Identifying Innovation Theatre
08:50 Innovation is NOT optional
12:25 Examples of Real Innovation
14:15 Examples of Innovation Theatre
16:00 Drawbacks from Performing Theatre
21:12 Impact from Doing Real Innovation
24:12 How To Be Successful Doing Real Innovation
25:25 Wrap-Up
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[@dmndgdl]

With the teams we work with, we always ask for three things before starting and activity. First is a senior business sponsor, second is a clear success criteria (that we put on the front page of whatever the activity is) and finally funding to implement (whatever that may be (not always a new product, often testing / experimenting)).
If we don't get all three, we don't engage. When someone comes to us with something that is clearly theatre, we tend to push them in the direction of internal comms or learning if they're adamant they want to do it. And sometimes, it's often about the PR created for the senior leader, but it harms us if we promote it as innovation when it's PR or learning.

[@growlfudge]

been listening to Phil since 2008! Always insightful

[@PhilMcKinney]

Thanks for the kind words!