Growth Guide - Innovation Impact in 2026

Growth Guide: Innovation Impact in 2026

Today’s business context is asking us as innovation teams to change what we’re doing and how we’re doing that, in order to deliver impact.

In 2026, success in corporate innovation isn’t measured by how many cool ideas are generated or shiny pilots were launched— it’s about how innovation translates into tangible business outcomes. Budget cuts, executive pressure, and the rise of AI have forced us to get brutally clear about what actually drives results.

During our recent Y2026 BoostCamp program we discussed what that means in practice:
·      how to gain and keep leadership support and strategic alignment?
·      what are low-budget-high-impact innovation instruments/approaches?
·      how to leverage AI for innovation throughout the end-to-end process?
·      and how to shift the culture/mindset across the org, to be able to act faster?

We captured the many in-depth conversations during the week, together with insights from other recent sessions within the community on the same topic, in a new “Innovation Impact in 2026” guide.

Chapter 1

How to gain and keep leadership support and strategic alignment?

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19 min read

How to gain and keep leadership support and strategic alignment?

Reinventing the Innovation Function For the Realities of 2026

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7 min read

Reinventing the Innovation Function For the Realities of 2026

The innovation functions that survive 2026 will look fundamentally different from those designed in the 1990’s.

How to Deliver BU Growth (and Stay Relevant)

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9 min read

How to Deliver BU Growth (and Stay Relevant)

Innovation leaders must audit their current standing, look for warning signals and act before the ground shifts completely.

Balancing Short- and Long-Term Focus: Lead With Evidence

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9 min read

Balancing Short- and Long-Term Focus: Lead With Evidence

Senior leaders intuitively know growth and innovation differ from running the core business, yet they lack the language and systems to manage both simultaneously.

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10 min read

Playing to Win vs. Playing to Learn

It's the role of the innovation team to generate data about the future that the core business cannot see.

Eliminate Ambiguity, Correct Asymmetry and Promote Accountability With An Innovation Mandate

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13 min read

Eliminate Ambiguity, Correct Asymmetry and Promote Accountability With An Innovation Mandate

An Innovation Mandate serves as a contract between the senior management (the organizational level) and the professionals conducting the work (the portfolio and project levels).

Fixing the Systemic Issues That Block Innovation

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9 min read

Fixing the Systemic Issues That Block Innovation

How to evolve org structures, governance systems and talent practices to build what's next.

Innovation Leadership: Mastering the Periscope, the Stethoscope, and the Horoscope

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12 min read

Innovation Leadership: Mastering the Periscope, the Stethoscope, and the Horoscope

Balancing long-term vision with short-term execution.

Stop Begging for Resources (and Start Building a Movement )

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11 min read

Stop Begging for Resources (and Start Building a Movement )

When people stop viewing innovation as a tax they have to pay, or a compliance box they have to check, and start viewing it as a vehicle for their own success, you have won.

Builders vs. Enablers vs. Architects: Getting Team Orientation Right

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8 min read

Builders vs. Enablers vs. Architects: Getting Team Orientation Right

Once you understand the "Jobs To Be Done", you can determine what type of team you actually need.

Epic Disruptions: Looking Backward to Move Forward

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9 min read

Epic Disruptions: Looking Backward to Move Forward

The walls of yesterday won't protect us eventually, but curiosity, collaboration, and a willingness to endure the struggle will guide us through the fog.

Chapter 2

What are key low-budget, high-impact innovation instruments and approaches?

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16 min read

What are key low-budget, high-impact innovation instruments and approaches?

The Innovator's Dilemma for 2026: Two Survival Strategies

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8 min read

The Innovator's Dilemma for 2026: Two Survival Strategies

Macroeconomic volatility, stock market expectations, internal pressure to deliver ROI: the magnifying glass is set on innovation in 2026. But there's not just one way to respond.

Using Jobs to Be Done to Build What Matters

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10 min read

Using Jobs to Be Done to Build What Matters

Because the cost of building has plummeted, the cost of building the wrong thing has become the primary risk.

The Synergies That Turn Innovation Programs into Growth Factories

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9 min read

The Synergies That Turn Innovation Programs into Growth Factories

Most innovation programs fail because they pull one lever in isolation.

The 7.5x Leverage Effect: How External Capital Multiplies Corporate R&D

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9 min read

The 7.5x Leverage Effect: How External Capital Multiplies Corporate R&D

Tapping into the best minds and biggest budgets outside your four walls to solve internal problems.

The Venture Clienting Puzzle: Solving for Culture, Strategy, and Scale

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7 min read

The Venture Clienting Puzzle: Solving for Culture, Strategy, and Scale

The process looks linear on a slide. In practice, it is a series of checkpoints where organizations either catch the problems early or spend months wondering why nothing scaled.

Building Future Relevance: How Venture Labs Challenge the Companies That Fund Them

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8 min read

Building Future Relevance: How Venture Labs Challenge the Companies That Fund Them

Delivering prototypes isn't enough. To be successful, a venture lab needs the decision power to select which ideas to pursue.

The Minimum Viable 12 Metrics: Connecting Strategy, Culture and the CFO

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10 min read

The Minimum Viable 12 Metrics: Connecting Strategy, Culture and the CFO

The ultimate purpose of these metrics is not just reporting, but triggering smarter conversations.

Expected Value (XV): The Financial Metric Innovation Teams Actually Need

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8 min read

Expected Value (XV): The Financial Metric Innovation Teams Actually Need

The future requires a bilingual innovator, one who speaks the language of design thinking and the language of the P&L — XV is the bridge between the two.

Innovation Funding: Why CapEx Beats OpEx

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8 min read

Innovation Funding: Why CapEx Beats OpEx

To unlock transformative growth, you must fundamentally change where the money comes from.

Chapter 3

How do we leverage AI for innovation throughout the end-to-end process?

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12 min read

How do we leverage AI for innovation throughout the end-to-end process?

Escaping Pilot Purgatory: Why 90% of AI Projects Never Reach Production

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10 min read

Escaping Pilot Purgatory: Why 90% of AI Projects Never Reach Production

Connect AI to core business goals, prioritize based on value and speed, and build a rolling 18-month roadmap that balances long-term vision with agility in a rapidly changing landscape.

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10 min read

Breaking the Innovation Theatre Cycle

Understanding why innovation theatre happens allows you to build AI-powered systems and workflows that enforce responsible innovation by design.

AI in Innovation: Flying the Plane While Building the Runway

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10 min read

AI in Innovation: Flying the Plane While Building the Runway

Transforming legacy systems takes time, yet the market will not wait.

How AI Personas Achieve 8x Faster Innovation Cycles

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8 min read

How AI Personas Achieve 8x Faster Innovation Cycles

The solution isn't to sprinkle AI on top of existing problems, but redesigning the innovation architecture.

Stop Brainstorming: Shortcutting Ideation with AI to Move Faster into Real Market Testing

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7 min read

Stop Brainstorming: Shortcutting Ideation with AI to Move Faster into Real Market Testing

AI lets us skip theoretical opportunity sizing for tangible concepts ready for real-world proof.

Using AI to Govern Innovation: Smarter Forecasting, Better Decisions

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9 min read

Using AI to Govern Innovation: Smarter Forecasting, Better Decisions

Estimates that used to take hours or days can now be generated in as little as five minutes—a significant boost to decision-making speed.

Chapter 4

How do we shift the culture/mindset across the organization, in order to act faster?

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8 min read

How do we shift the culture/mindset across the organization, in order to act faster?

Breaking the Cycle of Hesitation: How to Operationalize Speed

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8 min read

Breaking the Cycle of Hesitation: How to Operationalize Speed

Corporate hesitation is rarely a strategy; it’s the symptom of outdated structures, misaligned incentives, and a cultural bias toward safety.

Smart Risk-Taking: Why Fuzzy Goals (and Politics) Are Killing Your Ideas

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11 min read

Smart Risk-Taking: Why Fuzzy Goals (and Politics) Are Killing Your Ideas

The work of innovation is not just about coming up with ideas, but about fixing the boardroom dynamics that could kill it. We must prepare to do the messy, human work of culture change.

Technology Is Table Stakes: Why Culture Is Your Only Competitive Edge

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11 min read

Technology Is Table Stakes: Why Culture Is Your Only Competitive Edge

To stay ahead of the curve, redirect to the human element: think how teams work together, how they process change, and how they turn uncertainty into fuel for growth.