Navigating the Corporate Innovation Paradox
Large, successful companies are masters of the present. They run the “Now”, the core business, with unmatched efficiency and predictability. Yet, when it comes to creating the “New,” the future of the business, they often stumble. The very systems that make them successful today seem to sabotage their efforts to build tomorrow.
Why is this? A recent conversation between innovation experts Frank Mattes and João Richa reveals that much of the conventional wisdom about corporate innovation is flawed. They uncover a series of startling, counter-intuitive truths that explain why so many companies struggle to bridge the gap between their current success and their future survival.
In this article:
- You’re Likely Wasting 80% of Your Improvement Potential
- The Real Odds of Success Are Brutal
- The Nokia Paradox: A Masterclass in “Now and New”
- Innovation’s Real Gatekeepers Aren’t in the C-Suite
- Before You Scale, Ask Two Questions
- Catch the Replay: Unlock the Secrets of Corporate Innovation
- It’s Not “Now vs. New,” It’s “Now AND New”
You’re Likely Wasting 80% of Your Company’s Improvement Potential
According to João Richa, companies without a structured idea management process are leaving a massive amount of value on the table. This isn’t about finding the next billion-dollar moonshot; it’s about systematically tapping into the collective intelligence of your organization to improve the “Now” – the core business that funds every other initiative. As Richa notes, citing research from the book Idea-Driven Organization, the missed opportunity is staggering:
…if you do not have an idea management process within your company you’re wasting 80% of your potential for improvement.
Employees on the front lines know the processes, the customers, and the pain points better than anyone. A formal system to capture and implement their ideas is one of the most powerful, yet overlooked, drivers of value. The implication for leaders is clear: strengthening the core isn’t a distraction from innovation; it’s the foundation that makes the risky search for the “New” financially possible.
The Real Odds of Success Are Brutal: Only 3% of Ventures Make It Big
Citing data from major consulting firms like McKinsey, Frank Mattes presents a sobering statistical reality. The journey from a promising idea to a significant new business is a brutal funnel. The chances of a new idea becoming a market-ready product are roughly 1 in 10. Of those that make it, only about 1 in 5 goes on to become a $50 million business.
When you multiply these odds, the final success rate is a mere 3%. This means, as Mattes puts it, “29 out of 30 attempts fail.” This creates a violent cultural collision. The core “Now” business is governed by Six Sigma-level predictability, while the world of “New” is a statistical minefield where failure is the default state. For leadership, this demands a profound mindset shift from seeking operational certainty to embracing portfolio-based risk management, understanding that innovation success is ultimately a numbers game.
The Nokia Paradox: A Masterclass in “Now and New”
Nokia is often used as the poster child for innovation failure, a cautionary tale of a market leader disrupted by the iPhone. João Richa offers a powerful counter-narrative. Long before it dominated mobile phones, Nokia made products like gum boots; transformation is in its DNA. While the world focused on the failure of its consumer handset business (its declining “Now”), the company was executing a brilliant pivot.
Behind the scenes, Nokia was investing heavily in 5G technology and telecommunications infrastructure. That “New” venture has since become its highly profitable new “Now.”
This story perfectly illustrates the concept of “Now and New.” A company can simultaneously manage the decline of one core business while incubating the next. For leaders, Nokia’s true story is a masterclass in long-term resilience, proving that innovation isn’t about avoiding failure, but about successfully managing a portfolio of futures.
…actually Nokia is a great example of a success company on innovation while can be also studied by failure on innovation and that’s the beauty of playing with the now and the new…
Innovation’s Real Gatekeepers Aren’t in the C-Suite
While senior leaders endorse innovation, Frank Mattes argues that the real friction occurs at the middle management level. This is the “make or break” layer of any corporate innovation effort.
The world of a middle manager is governed by what Mattes calls “PM systems”:
- Performance Management
- Product Management
- Portfolio Management
- People Management
- Process Management
These managers are not resistant to change; they are rational actors responding to the incentives of a system designed for predictability. Their goals and bonuses are tied to the repeatable, efficient world of the “Now.”
Unless a company re-engineers these core incentive structures, middle managers have no logical reason to divert resources or political capital to support an unproven “New” venture. The implication is that true innovation commitment must go beyond executive speeches and be hardwired into the operational DNA of the organization.
Before You Scale, Ask Two Questions: Is It Worthy? And Are We Ready?
Too many companies rush to scale a promising idea, only to see it fail. Frank Mattes provides a crucial two-part framework that forces leaders to validate both the market opportunity (“Is it worthy?”) and their internal capabilities (“Are we ready?”).
- Is it worthy to be scaled?
This requires an external assessment to validate the market opportunity:- Have you observed a real, tangible customer problem?
- Is your value proposition demonstrably superior to all other alternatives?
- Have you figured out why and how fast customers will adopt your solution?
- Are we ready?
This internal assessment ensures that the organization has the infrastructure to scale:- Do you have a repeatable sales process?
- Is the product fully market-ready?
- Can your organization support the scaling process?
The second, and more frequently missed, is this inside-out assessment confirms you can deliver. You can’t scale an idea; you need a mature product that is “flying off the shelves,” supported by a repeatable sales approach and a scalable operating model. This framework provides a powerful guardrail, preventing leaders from prematurely allocating capital to ventures that are not yet built on a solid foundation for growth.
This dual framework helps organizations ensure they don’t overcommit resources to unproven ideas and provides a structured approach to scaling innovation.
Catch the Replay: Unlock the Secrets of Corporate Innovation
Missed our live webinar? Don’t worry. You can still watch the full session, where Frank Mattes and João Richa dive deep into the strategies driving corporate innovation.
Learn how to measure the ROI of innovation, apply cutting-edge ideas to your business, and manage both the “Now” and the “New” for sustainable growth.
Don’t miss out. Watch the webinar replay now and gain valuable insights to take your innovation strategy to the next level.
It’s Not “Now vs. New,” It’s “Now AND New”
The central theme running through these insights is that successful corporate innovation isn’t about choosing between the present and the future. It’s not “Now vs. New,” but “Now AND New.” The challenge lies in designing a deliberate interface between these two worlds, allowing them to coexist and strengthen each other. The profitable “Now” must fund the uncertain “New,” and the successful “New” must eventually become the future “Now.”
Looking at your own organization, are you building a bridge between “Now” and “New,” or are you building a wall?
