Fighting The Enemies of Innovation
A framework to assess and overcome people’s resistance
A framework to assess, understand and overcome people’s resistance
Driving change is a dangerous mission as I discussed in my previous post that was featured on the Business section by Medium Staff.
You are against the odds. Your mission success depends on surviving attacks from both friendly and unfriendly fire. I’m talking about the hardest resistance you will ever face: the Enemies of Innovation.
Disguised as a warm, caring boss (“The Caregiver”) or a smart client that wants to get the best out of you (“The Intellectual”), the enemies of innovation just want to slow you down.
Empathy for the Devil
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” — Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Figuring out their personal motivations is critical. Their actions (or lack of) can stop you from making change happen. My model uses storytelling and empathy to understand these enemies.
The following tensions drive their beha…
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