Mastering Innovation's Toughest Trade-Offs

Leadership in innovation requires addressing the hidden tensions that underlie innovation strategies. Many innovation efforts fail due to a lack of understanding and management of these tensions. To address this, the authors conducted extensive research and identified eight key questions that every innovation leader must be able to answer correctly. These questions include whether to be flexible or disciplined when capturing growth opportunities, whether to differentiate offerings or borrow ideas from competitors, when to follow data or ignore it, when to seek internal or external help, how to balance efficiency and flexibility, how to make new-to-world innovations familiar yet distinct, whether to focus on promoting the brand or solving a problem, and how to maintain stakeholder support during strategic pivots. By effectively managing these tensions, leaders can significantly improve the success of their innovation efforts.