Barriers to creativity and innovation

These are limitations to creativity and innovation which may include the following:

Negative Attitude

The tendency to focus on the negative aspects of problems and expend energy on worry.

Fear of Failure

For an entrepreneur failure is not a discouraging factor but is a necessary condition and a stepping stone to success.

Executive Stress

It is the state of not having time to think creatively. An over-stressed person finds it difficult to think objectively. Unwanted stress reduces the quality of all mental processes. An entrepreneur should avoid executive stress because it hampers creativity

Following Rules

A tendency to conform to accepted patterns of belief or thought – the rules and limitations of the status quo – hampers creative breakthrough. Some rules are necessary, but others encourage mental laziness.

Making Assumptions

Both conscious and unconscious assumptions restrict creative thinking. There is a need for an entrepreneur to identify and examine assumptions made to ensure new ideas are not excluded.

Over-reliance on Logic

This is investing all intellectual capital into logical or analytical thinking – the step-by-step approach – which excludes imagination and therefore creativity.

Other barriers include the following:

  • High cost of research and development.
  • Inability to protect invention through patents
  • Searching for the one right answer
  • Being over specialized
  • Believing that one is creative
  • Creativity is not taken seriously



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