What is the Biggest Barrier to Innovation?

This episode is a commencement speech I virtually gave on the biggest barrier to innovation.

The  Biggest Barrier to Innovation

Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous and likely to cause pain or a threat. For humans, fear tends to build on itself. Fear stands for false evidence that appears. Our brains can take “false evidence” and twist it into the worst potential outcome, making it “appear real.” This occurs as we strive for perfection, whether as an employee, spouse, leader, parent, or in this case, a student. The reality is that nobody is perfect, and failure is an unavoidable part of life. The most successful people have become “comfortable” with the education failure brings.

Avoiding the Conformity Trap

The real problem is conformity, thinking and acting the same as everybody else. No matter how much you conform to what others are doing, you can't avoid failure. Taking what we think is the “safe” approach puts us at more risk. It takes bravery to step out and leave the warm space of conformity to try something new. The world is rapidly changing. What constitutes success in the future won't be the same as in the past. When I started my career, the definition of success was doing tasks my boss assigned to me.

In the new creative economy that we are moving towards, the definition of success is creating valuable ideas that solve problems. In a recent study, only 25% of the population believe they are creative and offer value through their creativity. So why do 75% of the population think they cannot contribute to the creative economy? They don't see being creative as normal and fear the uncomfortable risks innovation brings. Society needs your human ingenuity and creativity to solve some of our biggest problems and create opportunities for the future. Welcome failures and step out to unleash your creativity today!

To know more about barriers of innovations, listen to this week's show: What is the Biggest Barrier to Innovation?