It’s time to get unstuck and revitalize your business with new ideas
Leaders talk a lotabout innovation. They put it in the mission statement. They tell their teams, ‘We need new ideas.’
The pipeline dries up. Meetings feel like déjà vu. Your competitors launch something bold, and you think, Why didn’t we come up with that?
The truth? Innovation doesn’t happen by accident. And if your company isn’t making real progress, you’re probably falling into one of these four common traps.
Let’s break them down—and more importantly, talk about how to fix them.
Reason #1: You don’t have a system for capturing ideas
Great ideas rarely appear out of thin air. They come from intentional processes—structured brainstorming, idea collection, and collaboration.
Tyler Toney, co-founder of the incredibly popular YouTube channel Dude Perfect, knows this struggle firsthand. His team has spent years creating viral content like trick-shot videos, but coming up with fresh ideas has only gotten harder.
That’s why they’re intentional about finding those fresh content ideas. As Tyler told me:
“We find that 80% of our time is now meeting and planning and brainstorming… I keep a list on my phone—a notes page—whenever I have an idea, whether it’s a segment for Overtime, a trick shot, an idea for a Bucket List, I’ll jot it down…and then the other guys pitch in, and we shut down each other’s ideas.”
The takeaway? Don’t rely on inspiration. Build a system. Keep a running list, schedule creative meetings, and encourage everyone to contribute. Innovation is a muscle—you have to train it.
Learn more from Dude Perfect in the How Leaders Lead app >>
Reason #2: Your expectations are too grand
Many leaders assume that real innovation means game-changing, industry-disrupting breakthroughs. That can certainly be the case.
But remember: small, incremental changes can have a massive impact, too—just without the massive risk.
Bill Rhodes, CEO of AutoZone, calls this approach evolution over revolution. Instead of launching untested changes across 7,000 stores, his team experiments in smaller batches.
“We believe in incremental innovation,” he says, “because with revolutionary innovation, the messes are a lot bigger. If you’ve got a great idea, let’s go put it in 100 stores and prove that it’s a great idea. We don’t have to put it in 7,000 stores.”
If innovation feels overwhelming, start small. Run a pilot. Test it in one department. Let success build momentum.
Learn more from Bill Rhodes in the How Leaders Lead app >>
Reason #3: You’re not listening
Your best ideas are already inside your company—but are you paying attention?
Liz Elting, founder of TransPerfect, built the world’s largest translation company by listening. Some of their biggest innovations—new service lines, certifications, process improvements—came straight from employees and customers. They spotted opportunities leadership had overlooked.
If you’re not getting fresh ideas, ask better questions:
- Hold one-on-one meetings with team members to surface insights.
- Use quick employee surveys to uncover pain points.
- Ask customers what’s frustrating them—and what they wish existed.
Someone connected to your company has probably already thought of a game-changing idea. You just have to listen!
Learn more from Liz Elting in the How Leaders Lead app >>
Reason #4: You’re afraid of chaos
Innovation is rarely neat and tidy. But many companies try to force it into rigid structures— requiring immediate ROI and over-managing the creative process.
That’s the opposite of how Google fosters innovation, as Allan Thygesen, now CEO of DocuSign, discovered during his time there.
This Thursday, I’ll release my conversation with Allan on How Leaders Lead, but here’s a sneak peek at a key insight he shared with me during our interview:
“When I joined Google, I was a little surprised at how somewhat chaotic it felt internally… There were multiple projects that were overlapping and competing. And at first, it sort of offended me. If you’re a manager, you’d think, ‘We should be top-down, structuring this, putting all our weight behind one idea.’ But the reality is, if you want the best talent and you want to drive innovation, that comes from the bottom up.”
(If you want to hear our full conversation, make sure you’re subscribed to How Leaders Lead on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube!)
Google’s culture allows for exploration because that’s where true breakthroughs come from. If you over-engineer your innovation process, you’ll kill it before it even starts. Plus, you’ll frustrate and possibly drive away your most innovative team members.
Yes, structure is important. But if you want innovation, make room for experimentation—even if it feels messy.
If you’re not innovating, it’s not because your industry is too mature or because all the good ideas are taken. It’s because something in your approach is getting in the way.
The good news? That means you can fix it. Build systems for capturing ideas. Start small and test before scaling. Listen to the right people. Embrace a little chaos.
Because innovation isn’t about chasing the next big thing—it’s about making small, smart choices that add up to something bigger.
Now, I’d love to hear from you! What’s been your biggest barrier to innovation? Drop a comment below, or tag someone who needs to hear this.
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