Breaking the Cycle of Innovation Frustration
The root of innovation challenges often boils down to trust. Executive leadership needs to trust that employees are focused on the right priorities, working in the right way, and set up for success.
Breaking the Cycle of Innovation Frustration
Innovation should be a consistent, seamless process, but often it's anything but which has caused problems for some companies. Executive leadership sets the company’s north star, providing the vision and key performance indicators (KPIs) that guide the organization’s direction. Then, innovation leaders and managers—like VPs and directors— scramble to align their goals with these overarching objectives. However, getting these goals approved by executive leadership can be frustrating and time-consuming, with the process often favoring those most skilled at "talking the talk" rather than those with the most innovative ideas. Let’s dig deeper:
Alignment: The company’s north star is not always relatable. Often, these guiding metrics—like “We want to grow to $100M in revenue with an operating income of 20%”—are too ambiguous for departments to see where they can directly contribute to the effort. These broad goals can also feel too far off, making it difficult to judge the immediate vs. long-term impact of efforts.
Goal Mapping: Not every innovation leader knows how to align their departmental level innovation goals with the company’s overarching objectives. More often than not, managers across the organization are left guessing, leading to a misalignment between strategy and execution.
Information Overload: The “how” of goal setting and tracking is often buried in scattered documents and spreadsheets. For innovation leaders, pulling together the data needed to create a cohesive strategy and make good decisions can feel like a wild goose chase. And this painful process repeats quarterly, if not more often.
Communication Gaps: Getting executive leadership the right information in the right format is a major challenge. Experienced leaders might have the advantage of knowing how to present this data effectively, but newer managers may struggle. This communication gap can also extend downward, making it difficult to get everyone on board with the strategy. Innovation leaders are often left to manage this complex, manual process alone, slowing down progress.
At StratRocket, we’re building a seamless workflow that empowers every manager throughout the organization to discover the right strategies, communicate them effectively to executive leadership for approval, and gain the necessary stakeholder support and resources—all with less time and headache.
The root of innovation challenges often boils down to trust. Executive leadership needs to trust that employees are focused on the right priorities, working in the right way, and set up for success. Without that trust, many promising projects and goals never see the light of day.
Ready to break the cycle? Discover how StratRocket can streamline your innovation process, build trust, and turn your goals into actionable strategies. Get in touch with us!
News We’re Reading
How AI Analytics Spurs Innovation at Newly Public Firms - A new study by experts at Wharton and elsewhere shows how AI can prevent innovation declines at early-stage firms after they go public.
Australian Employees Are No Longer Inspired or Motivated by Their Leaders - Australian employees report feeling uninspired by their leaders, as organizations prioritize growth and productivity over fostering innovation within the workforce.
Generative AI for Busy Workers - Interesting insights into why organizations struggle to adopt GenAI, with one reason being the current systems' inability to engage in "meta-cognition.”