Is Hubris Killing Innovation at Your Organization? Why Humility is Key

Innovation is a buzzword that is often thrown around in the business world, but how many companies are truly innovative?

Many of the most successful companies we see today have a significant pivot story early in their history.

Many of the most successful companies we see today have a significant pivot story early in their history. YouTube started as a dating site but nobody used it for dating; users were just uploading videos of themselves. Google was designed for enterprises to search internal documents, Twitter was a podcasting network, Instagram was merely photo filters, and in the beginning Facebook was basically “hot or not” for Harvard Business students.

For each of these companies to make such significant changes in strategy, they had to be willing to admit that their initial idea was wrong and pivot towards a new idea.   

However, many business leaders at companies who have achieved success from their existing products are hesitant to admit that they might be wrong about their next idea or the market’s willingness to accept it. They fall prey to hubris, believing that they have all the answers and that their next big idea couldn’t possibly fail. This mindset can be detrimental to innovation, as it discourages experimentation and stifles creativity.

As the saying goes, “If you build it, they will come”, has been proven to be wrong over and over again. The only exception to the rule is in life or death situations like curing cancer. And let’s face it, most of us aren’t curing cancer.

As Wharton professor Philip Tetlock showed in a landmark 2005 study, even experts’ predictions are only slightly better than chance. So, if even the so-called “experts” can be wrong, it’s important to approach investment in innovation with humility, a willingness to learn, and to pivot when necessary.

One way to do this is by using experimentation in the market with customers to rapidly test new ideas. By launching a minimum viable product and getting feedback from early adopters, you can quickly validate or invalidate assumptions and make necessary pivots before investing too much time and money. This approach requires a willingness to fail fast and learn from failures, which can be challenging in a culture that values extreme confidence, perfection, and success. However, it’s essential for companies that want to stay ahead of the competition and innovate successfully.

Humility could be the key to unlocking winning ideas

Humility could be the key to unlocking winning ideas where you are. If your organization is struggling to successfully innovate, it might be time to take a step back and reevaluate your approach. Are you as a leader truly open to new ideas? Are you willing to admit when you’re wrong and quickly pivot towards a new direction? And, most importantly, are you willing to experiment in the market with customers to rapidly test new ideas before scaling them? These are some of the questions that you should be asking yourself if you want to foster a culture of innovation and stay ahead of the competition.

Innovation is crucial for businesses that want to stay ahead of the competition, but it’s not always easy to foster a culture of innovation and evidence-based decision making.

Innovation is crucial for businesses that want to stay ahead of the competition, but it’s not always easy to foster a culture of innovation and evidence-based decision making. Also, humility and being open to new ideas are difficult when you’ve been successful, but they are keys to a future pivot.

Organizations we’ve seen realize success building a culture of innovation by creating an environment where humility, experimentation, and learning are not only accepted but encouraged. Experimentation woven into the fabric of decision-making will allow for quick validation of assumptions and adjustments before investing too much too early.