Despite the energy and effort you and your team pour into trying to innovate, it often feels like there’s no real progress. When new challenges and opportunities arise, you aspire to chart a bold new course. Perhaps your company has created brainstorming spaces, hired external creative talent, or made innovation a core value. But still, creativity stagnates and innovation remains a buzzword instead of a breakthrough.

Why does this happen? Because it’s not about the spaces or the speeches. These are surface-level solutions that only address symptoms. The real obstacle is the way we think. It’s no one’s fault; it’s neuroscience.

The brain’s built-in barrier to innovation

Our brains are wired with a negativity bias, a subconscious focus on potential risks and problems before anything else. When confronted with a new idea, the knee-jerk reaction is “Yes, but...” followed by an avalanche of reasons why it won’t work. This instinctive reflex isn’t a flaw in your team. Nor is it a lack of ambition or ability. It’s neuroscience at play. However, you can override this instinct and reframe how your team engages with new ideas.

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