Why Traditional Performance Management Kills Innovation

Posted by Cris Beswick
On 13/05/2026

Research reveals a troubling reality that most HR departments refuse to acknowledge: employees consistently report that their performance review process negatively shapes their view of HR and adds little value to actual performance improvement. Yet organisations continue investing millions in annual performance management systems that do precisely what they were designed to do—optimise for predictability, […]

From Vision to Value: Why Innovation Strategy Must Be More Than a Strategic Pillar

Posted by Cris Beswick
On 16/12/2025

In many organisations, innovation gets declared a strategic priority yet still fails to deliver real value because leaders can’t explain how innovation tangibly advances core business goals. Despite widespread agreement that innovation is essential, executives often lack strategic clarity on linking innovation efforts to outcomes like competitive advantage, growth, or operational performance.

The Innovation Engine: Why Middle Managers Are Crucial for Transformation Success

Posted by Cris Beswick
On 30/07/2025

The key to sustainable change lies not at the top or bottom, but in the middle. Middle managers—often dismissed as the 'frozen middle'—are actually positioned to be powerful innovation accelerators when properly enabled

Beyond Innovation Theater: Building a True Culture For Innovation

Posted by Cris Beswick
On 02/07/2025

Despite executives recognizing innovation as a top growth driver, 94% say their companies’ innovation performance falls short. Often the problem centers on culture—an abstract concept relegated behind tangible, process‑oriented goals.

Why Leadership Teams Fail to Drive Innovation: The Cultural Challenge

Posted by Cris Beswick
On 12/12/2024

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, a leadership team’s ability to foster innovation often determines an organisation’s success or failure. Yet, the stark reality is that many senior teams urgently need help creating the cultural conditions necessary for innovation to flourish. Based on extensive work worldwide with CEOs and senior executives, my experience reinforces that […]

Leadership’s Critical Role in Shaping Culture For Innovation

Posted by Cris Beswick
On 03/12/2024

While many companies proudly display values like “Innovation” and “Excellence” on their walls, few successfully translate these aspirational concepts into meaningful cultural change. The key to building an influential innovation-led culture lies not in proclamations but in embedding behaviours that support creative problem-solving and breakthrough thinking throughout the organisation. Leadership’s Critical Role When leaders claim […]

The Quest for Innovation Maturity: How AIM is Revolutionising Corporate Innovation

Posted by Cris Beswick
On 03/10/2024

Innovation is not just a buzzword, it’s a necessity for organisational success in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape. However, accurately assessing and improving innovation capabilities is a challenge faced by many companies worldwide. This global need led to the development of the Assessment for Innovation Maturity (AIM), a powerful tool designed to measure and enhance corporate innovation […]

What the latest BCG report tells us about what leaders need to do to build innovation capability

Posted by Cris Beswick
On 23/07/2024

Innovation has never been a higher priority for companies, yet most struggle to deliver on their aspirations. BCG’s 2024 global innovation survey found that 83% of companies rank innovation as a top-3 priority. However, innovation readiness has plummeted, with just 3% of companies scoring in the “ready zone” on BCG’s innovation maturity benchmark, down from 20% in […]

How to Reboot Your Innovation System

Posted by Cris Beswick
On 16/07/2024

Having written several books over the past decade and contributed small snippets of thought leadership or entire chapters to over a dozen other books, I still return to the book I wrote with Derek Bishop and Jo Geraghty of Culture Consultancy fame. Despite the world of corporate innovation seemingly moving on from when we wrote […]

Fostering the Right Culture FOR Innovation – The Vital Role of Psychological Safety in Leadership

Posted by Cris Beswick
On 27/06/2024

Innovation has become one of the cornerstones of success because leaders know that failing to adapt and embrace new ideas risks their organisations being left behind by more agile competitors. However, innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum – it requires an environment where employees feel empowered to take risks, challenge assumptions, and contribute their unique […]

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