Innovation graveyards: Where great ideas die in slow organisations

Explores how slow organisational processes, risk aversion, and excessive alignment cause promising ideas to stall, leading to lost innovation and unrealised potential.

Published on 27 April 2025

Written by Martin Hinshelwood

1 minute read

https://nkdagility.com/resources/S-OSZ8uEFdf

Inside every slow-moving organisation is an innovation graveyard—a place where great ideas die before they ever see daylight.

How?

Leaders demand “certainty” before taking a step.
Risk is managed by avoiding it, not navigating it.
New ideas must be “aligned” before they can be tested.

Meanwhile, the companies actually winning today? They launch. They learn. They iterate. They don’t wait until an idea is bulletproof because they know perfection is a lie in fast-moving markets.

The worst waste in a business isn’t money. It’s unrealised potential. How many great ideas has your organisation buried?

Entrepreneurship Unrealised Value Miscellaneous Business Agility

Connect with Martin Hinshelwood

If you've made it this far, it's worth connecting with our principal consultant and coach, Martin Hinshelwood, for a 30-minute 'ask me anything' call.

Our Happy Clients

We partner with businesses across diverse industries, including finance, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology, engineering, transportation, hospitality, entertainment, legal, government, and military sectors.