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 […]
The Decline of Corporate Innovation Arms: Why It Makes Sense and How to Reconnect Innovation with Strategy
In recent years, numerous companies have made the decision to close their innovation arms. Notable examples from this year alone include Migros, ZF, SAP, FWD, and Walmart. At first glance, this trend might seem counterintuitive. After all, innovation is often touted as a crucial driver of growth and competitive advantage. However, a new study by […]
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, […]
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 […]
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.
Three Things to Consider When Developing an Innovation Strategy
The process of developing a strategy in companies pre-pandemic was nothing more than an exercise in incremental adaptation of last year’s plan. The pandemic proved that the strategy development process needs to be more dynamic if the companies are to be able to swiftly adapt to new conditions when they arise. Furthermore, strategic planning is […]