Bosses lack time to effect change: report
Bosses of big New Zealand companies say that naysayers and a lack of responsibility and time are standing in the way of innovation in their businesses.
Innovation consultancy Previously Unavailable asked 44 chief executives what hurdles they faced in making big improvements.
The common denominator was not moving fast enough, the report found. Most of the bosses ranked the importance of innovation a 10 out of 10, but they rated their own business’s innovation progress an average of six out of 10.
Previously Unavailable founder James Hurman said there was no lack of effort or enthusiasm to innovate among executives, but their execution was poor.
He said he conducted the interviews to find out why New Zealand’s corporations were ‘‘10 times behind’’ the global innovation trend.
He said businesses either did big innovation or small innovation. Big innovation related to growth and required a high level of risk-taking, whereas little innovation meant comfortable improvements made to internal processes. Successful big innovation grew a business’ revenue, the report said.
Statistics New Zealand’s 2011 Innovation in New Zealand report suggested the most significant barrier to business innovation was the large cost to develop and introduce new ideas.
But ASB chief executive Barbara Chapman said lack of priority was her business’ main constraint to change, not money.
The report suggested that top bosses having too much on their plate and delegating the wrong person to lead innovation strategies was to blame.
‘‘When I asked chief executives who was in charge of innovation, none of them said the people who are most passionate about it,’’ Hurman said.
Auckland International Airport chief executive Adrian Littlewood said in the report that his business was not short on ideas, but short on time to execute them.
Hurman said workers were often resistant to change. Such naysayers caused innovative ideas to become low priority and eventually run out of oxygen. Setting deadlines on implementing new ideas would help ensure they came to fruition, he said.