Breakthrough Innovation Planning

86% of Breakthrough Innovations Happen When We Pause to Wonder "What If?", Yet Most Leaders Fill Calendars Too Full for Curiosity Scrolling through LinkedIn on this relaxed Saturday morning, Khozema Shipchandler's celebration of Twilio's 400th patent caught my attention. His words about innovation being "our engine" rather than just a buzzword resonated deeply as I sip my coffee, mind wandering beyond weekday constraints. What truly powers innovative cultures and discovered fascinating patterns: → Space Creates Breakthroughs Organizations that build legitimate "think time" into workweeks see 3.7x more employee-generated innovations. Companies with protected thinking hours experience significant creative output, yet 78% of knowledge workers report having zero unstructured thinking time. ↳ As Khozema noted, each innovation represents "a spark of curiosity, a bold idea, & the drive to build something new" → Psychological Safety Drives Bold Thinking Teams with high psychological safety produce 41% more innovative solutions than peers. When employees feel secure taking risks without fear of ridicule, organizations experience 37% fewer implementation failures and 2.5x faster idea-to-market cycles. → Cross-Pollination Transcends Boundaries Our analysis shows 68% of transformative business ideas originate from outside industry frameworks, often sparked during moments of relaxation or unexpected connections that traditional work structures rarely accommodate. ↳ Organizations breaking down silos see innovation rates triple compared to those with rigid department boundaries Cultivating Curiosity-Driven Culture ✦ Inspiration Catalysts – Install physical and digital spaces where employees share articles, ideas or thoughts that sparked "what if" moments, creating continuous innovation triggers. ✦ Celebration Rituals – Implement storytelling practices highlighting both successful innovations and valuable "productive failures," reinforcing that exploration is valued alongside execution. ✦ Connection Architecture – Design both physical and digital environments that facilitate unplanned interactions across functions, knowing innovation thrives at intersections. ✦ Reflection Rhythms – Build regular pauses into organizational cadence—like I'm enjoying this Saturday—where stepping back allows patterns and possibilities to emerge. The most innovative organizations recognize that building creative culture requires both structure and space—systems that nurture curiosity while providing the safety and resources to transform questions into impact. What's one unexpected source that's sparked your best innovation? Love exploring possibilities, Joe PS: We are building People Atom, the private network where forward-thinking HR leaders and founders learn to balance structured execution with creative exploration to transform innovation cultures. Our first private roundtable for CHRO's is scheduled on July 11th in Chennai (DM me for details)

Managers Don’t Support Innovation Unless You Align It to Strategy—Here’s How Innovation sounds exciting—until it clashes with corporate priorities. The hard truth? Most managers won’t support innovation unless it directly contributes to strategic goals. That’s why aligning innovation to strategy is a game-changer. When innovation becomes an enabler of strategic success, leaders see it as a necessity, not a distraction. In my book Breaking Innovation Barriers, I introduce 15 different ways to align innovation with strategy, from cost leadership and differentiation to digital transformation and sustainability. Each approach comes with a clear innovation assignment—one that defines what needs to happen, why it matters, and how success will be measured. For example, if a company pursues cost leadership, its innovation assignment might be: “Generate innovative ways to reduce costs by 50% in five years in a sustainable way, making us the cost leader in our niche.” If a company focuses on market development, its innovation assignment could be: “Generate new, easy-to-access markets for our current offerings to grow revenues by 15% over three years.” Seizing the Right Moment A key opportunity to align innovation with strategy? When a new CEO or corporate strategy shift happens. These moments create a natural opening for fresh, ambitious ideas that move the company in the right direction. To make this happen, I recommend running an Innovation Focus Workshop—a structured session that turns vague ambitions into a concrete innovation assignment. This approach, which I developed as part of the FORTH Innovation Method, ensures senior managers buy in by clearly defining what innovation should achieve. Your Next Step If you want management support for innovation, don’t just push for “new ideas.” Tie innovation directly to your company’s strategic objectives. That’s when leaders listen, invest, and actively champion innovation. Want to see how this works in practice? Check out the full story in Breaking Innovation Barriers. Let’s make innovation strategically unavoidable. #innovation #strategy #innovationstrategy #Breakinginnovationbarriers

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟖 𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧   Innovation isn’t just about creativity or luck—it’s a structured, strategic process that separates market leaders from the rest. According to McKinsey research, companies that lead in innovation generate 𝘁𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 as their competitors.   So, what makes a company an 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿? It comes down to 𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 that drive consistent, high-impact innovation:   🔹 𝗔𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 – Set bold, measurable innovation goals linked to strategy and financial planning. 🔹 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 – Prioritise and invest in the right ideas, not just more ideas. 🔹 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 – Identify insights at the intersection of a problem, technology, and business model. 🔹 𝗘𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 – Adapt business models to stay ahead—evolve or be replaced. 🔹 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 – Move fast, cut bureaucracy, and refine ideas with customer feedback. 🔹 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 – Ensure great ideas can grow efficiently and capture market share. 🔹 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 – Build innovation networks—collaboration fuels breakthroughs. 🔹 𝗠𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲 – Make innovation part of your culture—reward and systematise it.   One striking insight? Companies that 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘆  (such as post-pandemic) emerge 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸. Today, we’re seeing this play out in 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗜—the top innovators are already deploying 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲,  outpacing slower-moving competitors.   📌 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻? 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁—𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀. If you want to lead, build an organisation that prioritises and executes on these essentials.   What’s your take? Which of these essentials do you think companies struggle with most?   #Strategy 

Why You Need Systems Thinking Now! I. Three Modes of Innovation 1. Breakthrough thinking: invention‑first, constraint‑busting leaps that can open new markets and create unintended side effects when they outrun norms and regulation 2. Design thinking: human‑centered discovery, rapid prototyping, and desirability testing; great for usability, but can shift costs to actors the team didn’t study (suppliers, communities, nature) 3. Systems thinking: maps interdependencies and feedback loops, targets leverage points, and pursues resilient, net‑positive outcomes for the whole system II. Why it Matters In tightly coupled economies, linear fixes ripple. Systems thinking anticipates second‑order effects and reduces collateral damage while still harnessing the best of the other two III. A Practical 4‑Step Framework 1. Define the desired future state: name system‑level outcomes and metrics (resilience, equity, externalities, flow efficiency) 2. Reframe with stakeholders: map actors, incentives, and harms; craft a shared problem statement multiple parties can own 3. Focus on flows & relationships: chart stocks/flows, bottlenecks, and delays; redesign rules, incentives, and business models—not just products. 4. Nudge and learn: run small policy, pricing, or process nudges with a minimum‑viable coalition; instrument the system, measure spillovers, iterate, scale IV. Meeting the Wicked challenges Breakthrough and design thinking are powerful tools, but they often fall short when facing wicked problems—complex, evolving challenges with no clear solutions. In these cases, systems thinking offers a more holistic and adaptive framework for meaningful, multi-stakeholder change. Make sure to check out this insightful Harvard Business Review article by Tima Bansal and Julian Birkinshaw at Ivey Business School at Western University here: https://lnkd.in/dp2dsXRJ —— For regular updates on Transformative Innovation, make sure to follow us here: The Futuring Alliance The Futuring Alliance unites visionaries across business, policy, science, and society who believe the best way to predict the future is to shape it – together #innovation #transformativeinnovation #foresight #futures #systems #systemschange #strategy #venturing #impact #designthinking

Tailoring your approach to the level of innovation ambition (Horizons) Not all innovation is revolutionary. The complexity of your challenge—and the level of ambition—will shape how you apply customer-centric methods. Here’s a framework to help you think about and apply it: 🚀 Incremental (5 days to 3 months*) Optimising existing products, services, or business models for current customers.  Example: Smartphone camera improvements. 🚀 Evolutionary (3 to 6 months*) Creating new offerings for existing customers or entering adjacent markets. Example: Apple introducing AirPods as a new, complementary product for iPhone users. 🚀 Revolutionary (6 to 12+ months*) Breakthrough new products, services, processes, or business models for new customers. Example: The introduction of the smartphone. * Timeframe refers to the front end of innovation. A healthy innovation portfolio should include a mix of all three types—delivering both today’s revenue and tomorrow’s revenue. And as a bonus, regardless of the ambition level you’re focusing on, you’ll often uncover ideas that span all three levels. 👉 Don’t rush the front end Evidence shows that quality up-front work in the front end of innovation leads to higher success rates. Yet many organisations underinvest in this critical phase, jumping too quickly into development. The result? More rework, delays, and costly failures downstream. Paradoxically, taking the time to explore the problem thoroughly often speeds up the overall timeline—reducing rework and decision paralysis later on. Investing more time up front can dramatically improve outcomes. Once you’ve tailored your approach to your the level of innovation ambition, the next step is to appropriately resource the effort. Stay tuned, or check out my newsletter to read the full article. #innovation #leadership #designthinking #productdiscovery