Hint: It’s not by adding new features

Many people believe that breakthrough innovations are automatically accepted and widely adopted throughout society. But that assumption is flawed. Whereas the systems for enabling, formalizing and managing the innovation process seem to be improving, the fact remains that more than 90% of all new products and innovations fail, even if they provide obvious advantages. The good news is the adoption of innovations and technologies [that are truly meaningful] can be systematically accelerated using a framework of risk reduction that is based on the principles of neuroscience.

Without us knowing it, our amygdala – the “threat detector” and one of the oldest and more primitive parts of the brain – is constantly scanning our environment to assess our level of safety and alert us to any signs of trouble. It’s a basic survival mechanism with the goal of protecting us and keeping us safe. It was especially useful in prehistoric times when the threat of physical danger was omnipresent. But the amygdala can bypass the prefrontal cortex (the more newly-evolved part of our brain) and rapidly alert the body to danger.

Subconsciously, we see innovation as noxious and disruptive, and this bias can potentially discourage us from adopting a new product or trying an innovative new method. The reasons for this implicit bias against innovation can be traced to the fundamentally disruptive nature of novel and original creations. Innovation means change, without the certainty of desirable results.

People have an implicit belief the status quo is safe. And anyone invested in the status quo has plenty of incentive not to change. For example, novel ideas have almost no upside for a middle manager. The goal of middle managers is to meet the metrics of an existing paradigm.

The key finding of this study is that risk (or lack of safety) is in the eyes of the beholder. What might be perceived as high risk to some people is seen as low risk to others. And the greatest ambiguity comes from our discovery that an individual’s perception of risk can vary widely from one innovation to another.

In other words, a person can be the first on her block to buy an electric car, and at the same time the last to accept a COVID vaccination. Within the same person, EVs can be perceived as low risk and vaccinations can be perceived as high risk, and there is no method for predicting how someone will evaluate an innovation. The perception of risk is “innovation-specific.”

The second-biggest source of human resistance to innovation is the uncertainty surrounding the long-term viability of the vendor or supplier.

Fear that is based in uncertainty and loss of control trigger the ambiguity effect, a cognitive bias that leads us to avoid options with uncertain outcomes. Buyers and end users seeking reassurance often look for signs of the vendor’s commitment to and investment in the market segment where the innovation is applied. Sponsorship by a trusted institution carries a significant amount of risk reduction and credibility. To allay their fear of uncertainty, some vendors focus on factors such as prestige, image and reputation—a risky approach, particularly with discontinuous innovations.

The fear of becoming a technology orphan plagues mainstream buyers much more than it does early adopters. The vast majority of buyers don’t want to discover their supplier has gone out of business, and they are now stuck with products that no one will support. They look for compatible products that are fully tested, adhere to industry standards, and are used by others they know in their industry. Early adopters on the other hand are attracted by high-risk, high-reward projects.

The absence of peer-level support, the third persistent barrier to the adoption of innovations, is a well-known and studied dynamic. Group conformity, social cohesion and tribalism are basic survival instincts, but these tendencies consistently prevent people from adopting new things. Social norms shape a person’s sense of what is possible, discouraging them from adopting new methods that break with convention. This conformity bias leads us to follow our peers, even if it means maintaining the status quo and missing opportunities for advancement.

Three fundamentals ensure the rapid adoption of innovations

Entrepreneurs, policymakers, and technology vendors wishing to achieve mainstream market adoption with a new innovation need to be systematic and intentional. Our research and client experience have shown that all successful products and innovations embrace to various degrees three dimensions of risk reduction.

End-User Harmony: Our analysis of 50 breakthrough innovations that have become mainstream products all have attributes that reduce perceived risk by demonstrating the vendor has domain expertise in the customer’s industry and understands their current problems and priorities. This proof of expertise is established by offering pre-engineered solutions that are compatible with the customer’s existing infrastructure. The solutions provided are sold or delivered through familiar channels, and augmented with consulting services and/or support at every stage of engagement.

Category Cooperation: In taking a new innovation to market, the entire organization must develop attributes that position it as a trusted industry insider within the market category they serve. It is critical for the supplier to display their insider status by contributing to the evolution and success of the entire category. This means adhering to industry standards, improving the tools and technologies that are used, helping to create industry partnerships or ecosystems, and enabling others to offer complimentary products and services.

Safety in Numbers: Leading innovators understand that peer groups and communities hold great power. As such, successful innovations contain attributes that demonstrate the supplier’s commitment to providing long-term viability for customers by using external groups, safeguards and protections. Customers who are evaluating a new solution are more concerned than ever about the long-term durability and sustainability of their investment. These concerns can be addressed through: enabling communities that exchange unbiased sources of information, using programs and technologies that ensure security and privacy, and helping to create a maintenance and support system that extends beyond the lifetime of the vendor organization.

As products move through the adoption lifecycle, risk-reducing intangibles must be added to the core innovation so that the product meets the safety needs of each adopter group in sequence.

By providing customers with psychological safety, demonstrating your allegiance to the end user, and proving that you’ve earned the right to be a player in their industry, any innovative supplier can achieve mainstream market acceptance. But only by addressing the perceived risks that prevent people from adopting new innovations can companies build a product that becomes the market leader.

Conclusion

Humans crave stability. Yet people are experiencing less stability and greater risk than ever before. And we all recognize that innovation by itself is never enough. People must be willing to change and use new things. Getting a new idea or innovation adopted, even when it has obvious advantages, is often very difficult. That’s why the risk-lowering framework we have presented addresses the needs of innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs by describing the 12 product attributes that allow people to feel safe enough to adopt something new