The biggest cause of this in my experience is too much codified process, not too little. This is cause #1 in this article, which is vindicating. Adding process

The biggest cause of this in my experience is too much codified process, not too little. This is cause #1 in this article, which is vindicating. Adding process is a delicate balance and most large companies err on too much of it. Every checklist you add, every new approval, every sheet that needs some rows filled out, every brief - all of them add friction. New projects are inherently speculative, and most things don't move the company's bottom line. The power law that says 10% of work get 90% of results is true. Friction means whoever is doing the work is just a little less likely to propose a bold test, to push on a tweak they notice, because they know it will become an ordeal. Obviously you can't be 100% wild west and some process is needed. But you have to be very very careful when adding it.