---
type: Web Page
title: "“Everybody knows…..:  : Why companies fail at innovation"
canonical: https://jimcarroll.com/2015/02/everybody-knows-why-companies-fail-at-innovation/
updated: 2022-03-22T09:34:54+00:00
---

# “Everybody knows…..:  : Why companies fail at innovation

I spend a LOT of time doing talks at corporate meetings; often, a CEO or CxO leadership event for a Fortune 1000 company.

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Through 20 years of doing this, I’ve come to learn what it is that kills innovation in many an organization.

Here’s a post of 10 things that happen all too often:

- everybody knows something needs to be done

- there are an awful lot of ideas as to what to do

- no one knows where to start

- no one has the courage to take the first step

- and in fact, no one has been charged with the responsibility to take over and manage that first step

- there is a rampant fear that if we don’t do it, it just won’t end up well

- so a committee is established to figure out what the first step should be

- in frustration, a pioneer sets out to do something while the committee debates

- for many reasons, the efforts of the pioneer doesn’t go too well

- rather than learning from that experience, blame is assigned

- the result is that likely some other company – most likely a competitor — ends up doing exactly what should have been done in the first place!

World class innovators don’t fall into this trap.

They just do what needs to be done!