094. Breaking the Barriers to Innovation: Carlos Simon on Organizational Culture & Change in NGOs

SummaryInnovation is often treated as a buzzword—but few nonprofit leaders take a hard look at the cultural, structural, and leadership obstacles that keep it from taking root. In this episode, Tosca talks with Carlos Simon, an innovation strategist and longtime leader at World Vision, about what it really takes to build innovation-ready organizations. From internal mindsets to outdated processes, they explore what’s getting in the way—and what to do about it.Guest Bio:CEO of World Vision Costa Rica and iSmart360Director of Data Science and former Regional Director of BD & Marketing at World VisionInnovation strategist with 25+ years at World Vision International (WVI)Author of a forthcoming framework on the 7 stages of organizational innovation maturityWe Discuss:Why innovation is not the same as continuous improvement—and why that mattersThe cultural and structural obstacles that slow down innovation in large NGOsHow Carlos developed a framework that identifies 7 distinct organizational "zones" of innovation capacityThe importance of removing outdated processes to truly make space for new ideasWhy leaders must address internal “friction” as much as they focus on promoting new ideasHow senior leadership mindsets—like overconfidence or premature solution bias—can block innovationThe role of flat structures, strategic alignment, and client focus in driving real innovationQuotes“You cannot have a disruptive vision and then treat it as a continuous improvement plan.”“Innovation doesn’t fail because of a lack of ideas—it fails because of internal resistance.”ResourcesOrganizational innovation index with exponential factor