If you have ever had a great idea, perhaps a way in which you might be able to improve a service, product or even process, then you will know that sometimes these innovations are not always met in the most receptive manner.
It is, of course, fair to say that some ideas are not very productive or even feasible. Sometimes there might be good reasons to avoid innovation, but this is not always the case.
At companies such as Parallel Project Management Training, it is built into company ethos to embrace innovation. In fact, in all companies, it should be encouraged. Even when an idea represents clear progress, there is still a good chance that it will need selling to stakeholders and team members. Innovation faces many barriers in project management.
Momentum
Once the wheels are turning within an organisation, or indeed a project, then it can be rather tricky to change them.
It is highly likely that any innovations are in competition with the approach already being used. It can be really hard to get past this familiar way of doing things. The way we have always done things is all too often a rigidity that people like to stick to. Therefore, breaking through this is something that you will really need to sell to others within the organisation.
Overwhelm
Sometimes the days to day struggles of the workplace can be overwhelming. This is a change that can also seem like too much to others. When someone is already feeling overwhelmed, then the chance that they will be okay accepting changes is reduced. This is the case even if the innovation in question has the potential to increase productivity, something that will actually help to reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed.
Uncertainty
All change can be disruptive, and people much prefer predictability. When something is new, there is always an uncertainty that it will not succeed. Unfortunately, many don’t tolerate unpredictability well. However, sometimes it is important to give innovations a try in order to see if they can, in fact, work and improve things.
In any project, it is important to weigh up the additional risks that might be associated with innovation and see if they are worth taking in order to improve things. This is also true of the costs that are often associated with innovations; are they worth it in order to achieve the end result? Remembering that the initial costs may seem high, but over time they will even themselves out will help manage expectations. Extra time should also be added to the costs associated with any possible innovations. When we fail to add these in, a project can end up being delivered over budget and late.
This is something that during the course of courses for PMs you will learn can have the effect of stifling innovation to a much greater extent. When this happens, people believe that innovation isn’t worth it, it costs more and makes a project run late, which is something we all want to avoid.
