Why do companies focus on punishing mistakes? But ignore the creativity that could help them grow.
Organizations are wired to obsess over reducing mistakes because they are visible, costly and embarrassing and it’s easier to measure them. Gary Klein says “Organizations hammer home the message of reducing mistakes, perhaps because it is easier for managers to cut down on mistakes than to encourage insights.” Clayton Christensen pointed out that large firms fail at disruptive innovation by hiring leaders skilled in execution, not discovery.
But these incremental tweaks won’t move the needle. Research from Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick shows that companies that make bold, creative moves have a 45% success rate outperforming those relying on incremental changes (30%) or market trends (25%). If you don’t make bold, creative moves you can’t expect to be successful.
Here are some ways in which you can encourage more creativity:
Dedicate 20% of your resources to higher risk, high reward projects where creativity can bring breakthroughs.
Adopt Roger Martin’s design thinking framework: merge analytical rigor (“What is”) with intuitive exploration (“What could be”) to give you a competitive advantage.
Hire or train “T-shaped” leaders who are integrative thinkers, those with both logic and creative problem solving.
Integrative thinking isn’t about choosing between analysis and creativity. It’s about using both to design strategies that have a greater probability of success.