Post by Rudy R. Racine on Apr 22, 2016 5:13:33 GMT
1. Share your interpretation of barriers to innovation. Do they ring true for you? Why or why not?
I interpret barriers to innovation to be anything that stands in the way of trying something new. I think fear and ignorance are two primary barriers to innovation. Often times the innovators are afraid to push forward with their idea because they lack the confidence to risk failing. On top of that, as leaders, I think a lack of information might lead individuals and/or organizations to be reluctant to move forward with an idea.
2. Share an example when you tried to innovate and did not succeed. Based on your understanding of the innovation constraints framework, what prevented you from succeeding? What would you do differently with your understanding of the barriers to innovation?
Though it's somewhat of a minor example, a time I tried to innovate and did not succeed was when I worked for Enterprise Rent-A-Car in 2008. The entire management staff was asked to brainstorm and think of new ways to generate revenue for our rental branches. I suggested that the company purchase Auxiliary cords in bulk and sell or rent them in our branches so our renters could listen to music from their phones & ipods in the cars they rented from us. The reason behind my suggestion was that almost all of the new cars in our fleet had an auxiliary cable input allowing customers to connect their device to listen to music. There were numerous cases where I interacted with customers that either forgot to bring their own cable, or requested one for the car. This was also the time period where iPods and MP3 players were increasing in popularity and I thought Enterprise could capitalize on our customers' interest. I explained to management that the auxiliary cable offer could be used as a way to persuade customers to upgrade to a nicer/newer car that offered the cable option.
Unfortunately, I did not succeed in persuading our Senior Leadership to act on the idea. Although there was some intrigue surrounding the idea, my Regional Vice President was hesitant to approve the bulk the purchase because he wasn't totally familiar with the technology I was recommending. In addition, his personal view was that customers would be more inclined to listen to the radio than to a music player. In this case, my RVP felt more comfortable sticking to what he knew than to try something unconventional.
I think another barrier was my confidence when trying to persuade them to accept my innovative idea. If I believed in my idea more, I think I would have been more persistent in my approach and maybe would've provided tangible examples of the cables I was recommending.
I interpret barriers to innovation to be anything that stands in the way of trying something new. I think fear and ignorance are two primary barriers to innovation. Often times the innovators are afraid to push forward with their idea because they lack the confidence to risk failing. On top of that, as leaders, I think a lack of information might lead individuals and/or organizations to be reluctant to move forward with an idea.
2. Share an example when you tried to innovate and did not succeed. Based on your understanding of the innovation constraints framework, what prevented you from succeeding? What would you do differently with your understanding of the barriers to innovation?
Though it's somewhat of a minor example, a time I tried to innovate and did not succeed was when I worked for Enterprise Rent-A-Car in 2008. The entire management staff was asked to brainstorm and think of new ways to generate revenue for our rental branches. I suggested that the company purchase Auxiliary cords in bulk and sell or rent them in our branches so our renters could listen to music from their phones & ipods in the cars they rented from us. The reason behind my suggestion was that almost all of the new cars in our fleet had an auxiliary cable input allowing customers to connect their device to listen to music. There were numerous cases where I interacted with customers that either forgot to bring their own cable, or requested one for the car. This was also the time period where iPods and MP3 players were increasing in popularity and I thought Enterprise could capitalize on our customers' interest. I explained to management that the auxiliary cable offer could be used as a way to persuade customers to upgrade to a nicer/newer car that offered the cable option.
Unfortunately, I did not succeed in persuading our Senior Leadership to act on the idea. Although there was some intrigue surrounding the idea, my Regional Vice President was hesitant to approve the bulk the purchase because he wasn't totally familiar with the technology I was recommending. In addition, his personal view was that customers would be more inclined to listen to the radio than to a music player. In this case, my RVP felt more comfortable sticking to what he knew than to try something unconventional.
I think another barrier was my confidence when trying to persuade them to accept my innovative idea. If I believed in my idea more, I think I would have been more persistent in my approach and maybe would've provided tangible examples of the cables I was recommending.