I frequently come across businesses that have great ideas but just can’t seem to progress them. Upon further questioning a list of excuses soon emerge. If this is you join the club! Chances are if you are not progressing your ideas the excuse will be on the list below. Without making yourself wrong, simply note the ones that show up the most for you, then try the simple “go beyond excuses” exercise at the end of the list. It’s time to get unstuck…
1. I don’t have the time.
2. I can’t get the funding.
3. My boss will never go for it.
4. We’re not in the kind of business likely to innovate.
5. I’ve got too much on my plate right now.
6. I won’t be able to get it past legal.
7. I’ll be punished if I fail.
8. I’m just not not the creative type.
9. I’m juggling way too many projects.
10. I’m too new at this.
11. I’m not good at presenting my ideas.
12. No one, besides me, cares about innovation.
13. There’s too much bureaucracy here to get anything done.
14. Our customers aren’t asking for it.
15. We’re a risk averse culture.
16. We don’t have an innovation process.
17. We don’t have a culture of innovation.
18. They don’t pay me enough to take on this kind of project.
19. My boss will get all the credit.
20. My career path will be jeopardized if this doesn’t fly.
21. I’ve already got enough headaches.
22. I’m no good at office politics.
23. My home life will suffer.
24. I’m not disciplined enough.
25. It’s an idea ahead of its time.
26. I won’t be able to get enough resources.
27. I don’t have enough information.
28. Someone will steal my idea.
29. It will take too long to get results.
30. We’re in a down economy.
31. It will die in committee.
32. I’ll be laughed out of town.
33. I won’t be able to get the ear of senior leadership.
34. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
35. The concept is too disruptive.
36. I won’t be able to get enough support.
37. I don’t tolerate ambiguity all that well.
38. I’m not in a creative profession.
39. Now is not a good time to start a new project.
40. I don’t have the right personality for this.
41. Our company is going through too many changes right now.
42. They won’t give me any more time to work on the project.
43. If I succeed, too much will be expected of me.
44. Nothing ever changes around here.
45. Things are changing so fast, my head is spinning.
46. Whatever success I achieve will be undone by someone else.
47. I don’t have enough clout to get things done.
48. It’s just not worth the effort.
49. I’m getting close to retirement.
50. My other projects will suffer.
51. Been there, done that.
52. I don’t want another thing to think about.
53. I won’t have any time left for my family.
54. A more nimble competitor will beat us to the punch.
55. Teamwork is a joke around here.
56. I’ve never done anything like this before.
57. I won’t be rewarded if the project succeeds.
58. We’re not measured for innovation.
59. I don’t have the right credentials.
60. I need more data.
61. It’s not my job.
62. It will hard sustaining the motivation.
63. I’ve tried before and failed.
64. I’m not smart enough to pull this off.
65. I don’t want to go to any more meetings.
66. It will take too long to get up to speed.
67. Our Stage Gate process will sabotage any hope of success.
68. I’m not skillful at building business cases.
69. Summer’s coming.
70. The marketplace is too volatile.
71. This is a luxury we can’t afford at this time.
72. I think we’re about to be acquired.
73. I’m trying to simplify my life, not complicate it.
74. The dog ate my homework.
75. Help! I’m a prisoner in a Chinese fortune cookie factory.
76. My company just wants to squeeze more blood from the stone.
77. My company isn’t committed to innovation.
78. I don’t have the patience.
79. I’m not sure how to begin.
80. I’m too left-brained for this sort of thing.
81. I won’t be able to get the funding required.
82. I’m getting too old for this.
83. Everyone’s on a different page.
84. Spring is coming.
85. I’m hypoglycemic.
86. That’s Senior Leadership’s job
87. I’m thinking of quitting.
88. Market conditions aren’t right.
89. We need to focus on the short term for a while.
90. Innovation, schminnovation.
91. What we really need are some cost cutting initiatives.
92. Six Sigma is all that people care about.
93. Mercury is in retrograde.
94. IT won’t go for it.
95. Maybe next year.
96. That’s my boss’s job.
97. That’s R&D’s job.
98. I would if I could, but I can’t, so I won’t.
99. First, we need to benchmark the competition.
100.It’s against my religion.
How to go beyond these poor excuses
1. Make a list of your three most common ones.
2. Turn each excuse into a question, beginning with the words “How can I?” or “How can we?” (For example, if your excuse is “That’s R&D’s job,” you might ask “How can I make innovation my job?” or “How can I help my team take more responsibility for innovating?”
3. Brainstorm each question – alone and with your team.
4. DO something about it within the next 48 hours.
