Lots of Organizational Roadblocks

Finding new ways to work can be challenging even at the best companies. Organizations can be risk-averse, and when you are trying to develop a new product or service, there can be lots of organizational roadblocks. But there are ways to hurdle each one.

Organizations can be risk-averse

Your company being risk-averse is not something you can change, but you can find a way to lower the risk. Break your idea into smaller goals, and run small experiments to see if you can hit those goals. Each experiment you run helps pay down that risk while you practice finding success.

‍Management layers

Is your organization “flat” or does it have multiple layers of management? Either way, focus on who the Decider is (the person who could greenlight your idea), and consider what’s in it for them. Get their insights and their buy-in as early as possible. 

‍In-office politics

As much as we hate that office politics exist, we can’t ignore the elephant in the room. Having your Decider advocate for your idea makes a huge difference. If you can make this idea a “win” for them too, they can help navigate any politics you run into.

‍It’s not in the budget

Budgets are always an intelligent guess. You may think they are set in stone, but often when a big opportunity comes along, management finds a way to fund it. If the company is confident an idea will bring 3-5x returns on that investment, they’ll find the money.

‍It all comes down to this

Companies get set in their ways. They get used to how things have always worked. But if you have the company’s bottom line in mind and have a solid plan for how to develop and present your idea, you can find a way to overcome any roadblock.

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PS - Need a solid plan for developing an idea and overcoming organizational roadblocks?

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‍PPS - This is the 9th post in a series of the 10 problems all innovation teams face.