7 - Systematic Pyramid Review

Summary

The Innovation Pyramid, like any tool, comes down to how well we learn to use it to improve our collective judgement. Reviewing innovation projects allows us to better understand the linkages between the specific-level decisions and the overall project outcome. This deeper discernment requires a critical analysis of the entire innovation system – every decision taken between the initial situation and overall desired outcome must be reviewed. Fortunately, the structure of The Innovation Pyramid is equally useful in guiding the identification of the well-rationalized choice made during the design and execution of the innovation that inadvertently caused us to veer away from our overall, macro-level, desired impact of the original situation. This chapter lays out a structure to systematically review the project elements that could be associated with the variance between the actual and forecasted impact of the innovation. The guidance that The Pyramid provides for a project's post-execution review must often be augmented with additional research. Firms should consider this additional research an investment in their emerging core competency of serial innovation.