I left the corporate world years ago not only because I managed to raise funding to pursue my own startup ideabut mostly because there was little to no incentive for managers to encourage new ideas or change. Managers were simply incentivised to deliver simply what was in their position description and more often than not, that had nothing to do with discovering new ways of doing things, much like the organisations they work for.

Change is risky after all, or so they say. Many managers wonder why on earth they should take a risk on change when they’re sitting pretty on a six figure salary, probably have mouths to feed, are comfortable with “the way things have always been done around here” rhetoric and have no real desire to rock the boat. But with more than 50% of today’s S&P500 facing replacement in the next 10 years alone and with one in three listed companies at risk of being de-listed in the next five years, it’s no secret that organisations need to start incentivising innovation if top-down calls from senior executives to “be bold, be innovative!” are to be heeded. 

This need is even more pronounced at a middle manager level which can either be the lifeblood or ring the death knell of corporate innovation. The question often becomes one of how to incentivise innovation without compromising the core business model. After all, the core business model is where we make money today (but not necessarily tomorrow – just ask Kodak, Blockbuster, Borders, Compaq and countless others who have fallen by the wayside thanks to technology and/or business model disruption).

I delve into the key considerations in this episode of Fast Fix Friday. 

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