#8 Innovation by Design Series (3/6) How Better Decision-making Drives Breakthrough Innovation

Reimagine how decisions are made in support of Breakthrough Innovation

Bad Decisions Kill Good Ideas

Let’s face it—most breakthrough ideas don’t die from lack of creativity. They die in the decision room.

Too often, organizations apply outdated decision models to ideas that break the mold. The result? Exciting possibilities get stalled, reshaped into mediocrity, or dismissed entirely. If you’re serious about innovation, you need a different kind of decision-making—one built for ambiguity, risk, and exploration.

In this post, we focus on how to make better, braver decisions in support of innovation. That starts with supporting your champions and inviting wildcards to the table.

7. An Innovation Decision-Making Model That Fosters Teamwork and Champions

Support passionate champions with a flexible, team-based decision model.

8. Inclusion of Outside Perspectives & Wildcards

Invite external, naive, or unconventional perspectives to challenge internal assumptions.

7. A Decision-Making Model That Fosters Teamwork and Champions

Breakthrough ideas need both structure and flexibility.

The old models—top-down autocracy or lowest-common-denominator consensus—don’t work. One kills ideas with control. The other dilutes them into safety.

What does work? A model we call Championed Teamwork:

• A passionate champion with enough influence to advocate for the idea.

• A supportive team that works collaboratively and constructively.

• Evolving criteria that reflect where the idea is in its lifecycle—not just financial projections.

Traditional ROI models don’t apply to early-stage innovation. As we like to say:

“ROI for breakthrough innovation stands for Return On Imaginary numbers.”

📌 Try This: Use alternative criteria like our S.N.I.F.F. test:

·      Strategic Fit (How strongly does this idea fit or further your Strategic Vision?)

·      Need (Strength of the desire/need in the marketplace)

·      Impact ( How “Big” an idea is this for the market?)

·      Feasibility (How likely is it that you can have a workable solution in your timeframe?)

·      Feel (What’s YOUR gut say?)

Rate each idea on a scale of 1-5 for each criteria.

📌 Ask Yourself:

Do you have a decision process with the champions and criteria that are appropriate for the type of innovation you are seeking?

8. Inclusion of Outside Perspectives & Wildcards

If you only talk to yourselves, you’ll only hear what you already believe.

Innovation happens at the edges—where your company meets the outside world. That’s why bringing in outside perspectives is critical.

This could include:

• Customers and users

• Academic and industry experts

• Startups, partners, even competitors

• People with “naïve” perspectives who challenge your sacred cows. Their value isn’t just novelty—it’s their ability to stretch your view of what’s possible and challenge assumptions you didn’t know you had.

📌 Ask Yourself:

Are you actively inviting outsiders into your innovation process? When was the last time a “wildcard” challenged your thinking?

Score Yourself

Add these two factors to your Innovation Scorecard:

Subtotal for Post 3: _____ / 10

Running Total (Posts 1–3): _____ / 40

To learn more about Innovation Decision-making models, S.N.I.F.F. or bringing outside perspectives in when the conversation is strategic and proprietary, reach out or subscribe to stay in the loop.

Coming Next:

Blog Post 4 – What’s Driving Change in Your Market?

We’ll explore the four unavoidable drivers of change—Customers, Competitors, Regulation, and Technology—and how organizations can learn to act before they’re forced to.