“Prove it.” Those are the two words most deadly to innovation. It often makes sense to ask for analytical proof before making a decision, but this phrase can set a standard that’s impossible to meet. There is no data about how a genuinely new idea will interact with the world, so there is no way to prove it will work in advance. So while you might think you’re just being rigorous, you can actually end up killing innovation. To keep your innovators from being discouraged, you need to distinguish between when you are honing and refining an existing system and when you are attempting to create something genuinely new. In the former, it’s fine to ask for evidence. In the latter, you need to take an entirely different approach. Focus on prototyping to test innovative ideas in small ways without much up-front investment. Iterative experimentation will generate data and refine the solution.
Adapted from “
Two Words That Kill Innovation” by Roger Martin.
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