Macro-Design · Full-day strategic retreats
The Innovation Portfolio (Explore/Exploit)
A framework for managing an organization's entire range of business models. It helps leaders balance the improvement of current operations with the search for future innovations to ensure long-term resilience.
When to use The Innovation Portfolio (Explore/Exploit)
During organizational transformation or long-term strategic roadmap planning.
How The Innovation Portfolio (Explore/Exploit) works
Facilitators can use this with leadership teams to categorize their current L&D initiatives, distinguishing between 'optimizing current training' and 'exploring new learning paradigms'.
Phases of The Innovation Portfolio (Explore/Exploit)
- Explore (Search for new growth engines): The organisation searches for new business models, managing ideas by expected return and reduced risk through testing. In a workshop, teams place new initiatives on the explore map and decide which to fund, test or kill.
- Exploit (Manage and grow existing business): The organisation manages existing businesses by return and risk of disruption, improving, protecting or renewing them. Teams place current business models on the exploit map and discuss where they are vulnerable.
Key principles
- Dual-Track Innovation
- Portfolio Diversification
- Continuous Renewal
Best for
- Organizational Resilience
- Strategic Growth
- Change Management
Considerations
- Requires different KPIs and mindsets for 'Explore' vs 'Exploit' activities
- Needs strong executive buy-in to protect 'Explore' budgets
Attribution & sources
Developed by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur
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