Building the Right Innovation Portfolio
If you’ve been around the innovation world for a while you probably came across the 70-20-10 ‘golden rule’ for portfolio management. Specifically the rule suggests that 70% of a company’s resources need to go toward core-business innovation, 20% towards adjacent innovation and 10% towards disruptive or radical innovation. Historically speaking, the concept was first introduced […]
Ways of Mapping Your Innovation Portfolio
Innovation-led growth, at its core, hinges on how resources are allocated; it’s not simply a matter of creativity or generating new ideas. The challenge lies in prioritizing a portfolio of initiatives in a way that aligns with a company’s strategic goals and prepares it for the future. Often, companies fall into the trap of using […]
Having Goals Doesn’t Mean You Have a Strategy
Sadly, in many board conversations, the terms “goals” and “strategy” are often thought of as interchangeable probably due to the fact that one can’t exist without the other, yet they represent fundamentally different concepts. If goals are the desired outcomes or targets a company aims to achieve, strategy refers to the plan or approach the […]
Why ISO Standards Fall Short in Innovation Management
Co-authored by Bruno Pešec and Dan Toma. There are companies nowadays that are recognizing the importance of innovation for their long term strategic intent. Some of these companies have had great experiences with innovation in the past and just want to double-down on the effort and professionalize the practice; while others want to do it, […]
The Art of Corporate Spin-Outs: When to spin-out? How to spin-out?
In the volatile economic environment of today, if done right, innovation isn’t just a buzzword; it’s the lifeline of the company. Corporations are constantly seeking ingenious ways to breathe life into groundbreaking ideas, and spin-outs are just one of many ways in which companies can make innovation a viable proposition. “Spin outs” typically refer to […]
Thesis-based Investment or Theme-based Investment
One of the worst mistakes companies make when pursuing innovation-led growth is to sink their money into various investments without knowing why, beyond just ‘it’s a cool technology that can disrupt us’ or ‘it’s the board’s pet project’. Yes, this sounds like the world’s most obvious mistake to avoid, but in our experience, we’ve seen […]
The Innovation Thesis and its Structure
President Kennedy’s address to the joint session of the US Congress on May 25th 1961 can be viewed as the start of the space race: “… I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to […]
Moonshots Are Nice, But do You Have a Space Program?
Probably you are familiar with the term moonshot and if you aren’t here’s a short definition: a difficult or expensive task, the outcome of which is expected to have great significance. As difficult as it might sound, launching a transformational new idea that will have a positive impact on your company’s business, can actually be […]
Why a Career in Innovation Management is a Bad Idea. And What Can You do About it.
Following a career in innovation might sound really exciting. At least in theory, you will have to tap into your creative self, you will get the chance to play with the latest technology, understand the latest trends and overall have a feeling of being ahead of the curve. But in reality, in most companies, following a career in innovation might be the worst choice one can make.
Why Now? Why Us? A Radically Rational Guide for a Winning Business Strategy
Deciding on which strategic option to pursuit comes from understanding if the timing is right to act and if your comapny is in the best position to succeed in with that strategic option.