Resources

This five-page document released in 2023 provides an overview of the company’s strategic innovation framework, including priorities, methods and values.

The $92 billion food and beverage giant PepsiCo created this fantastic, clear, concise format for describing specific areas of opportunity for innovation.

2025 PDF on the PepsiCo Labs model for delivering End-to-End Program Pilots.

Structured business case: problem, solution, market, financials and asks.

If corporate innovation can sometimes feel like a game, it’s one set to hard mode. Success requires relationship-building, resource-gathering, and constant learning to make it past the traps and pitfalls you’ll inevitably encounter. Download the large-format discussion document…

Log scouted technologies, sources, maturity and internal sponsor status.

Track every initiative across horizons, risk and expected value in one roll-up view.

End-to-end process for sourcing, piloting and scaling startup partnerships.

Define decision rights, funding gates and escalation paths for innovation work.

Customer relationship management firm Salesforce has deployed AI throughout its product set, and has codified a set of five “Trusted AI Principles” that are embedded in the business.

The $57 billion technology company has published more than most companies related to AI. First, it published a document outlining its six principles for responsible AI. Then, the company unveiled a more detailed AI framework that is intended to be applied to the development and use of AI by Cisco. Get access to both PDFs…

The $47 billion British telecom Vodafone published an excellent seven-page AI framework in 2019 that explained how the company intended to develop and employ AI technologies.

Charter template covering committee mandate, membership and cadence.

No one would deny there’s a lot happening in the world of startups. But how can large companies tap into it, in a way that aligns with their objectives and creates real value? In this large-format illustration, we’ve laid out seven of the most common approaches to plugging in to the startup ecosystem — along with the key questions to ask about each.

Created inside publicly-traded companies, this PowerPoint deck lays out various options for setting up innovation organizations; defining roles; creating processes and pipelines for moving projects forward; and measuring outcomes.

Single PowerPoint slide detailing the technology integrator SAIC’s process for determining whether new ventures deserve additional resources.

Submitted anonymously in 2021, this slide looks at how one organization thinks about important and not (yet) important emerging technologies. How would you fill out this matrix for your organization today? Does everyone agree?

Why do you need to move fast? This graphic lays out all of the things that happen on the Internet every minute, from Amazon sales to Netflix movies viewed.

Explores how the collaboration software companies thinks about horizons; lean startup; training; and scaling projects that work.

Submitted anonymously in 2018, this slide looks at technology trends that apply to a company’s core business — or could be relevant to adjacent or white space projects. Includes blockchain, quantum computing, AI, and drones as examples.

A model for thinking about how new technologies and therpies can be applied to health disorders — yielding new business for the medical device maker ResMed.

Excel spreadsheet that provides a visual and quantitative way to evaluate the applicability and potential impacts of emerging technologies on the insurance company.

Two slides lay out a great way to think about various initiatives, or “flavors of innovation,” that a company might pursue, from a cultural initiative to a workshop series to a venture fund to a spin-out company.

What does progress look like when you’re the team tasked with doing the new stuff? It’s a question that comes up at most of our in-person gatherings. What are the characteristics of each stage of innovation, the things you ought to be focusing on, and the risks that you may not make it to the […]

Here is a maturity model showing choices, activities, and risks to consider, based on InnoLead research and interviews with executives at Global 1000 companies.

A one-page overview of the company’s innovation framework, from “Needs Definition / Idea Submission” through to “Transfer to Program Development.”

A short presentation identifying how the publicly-traded tobacco products company uses its insights to imagine, identify, and capitalize on business opportunities.

An open framework for executing innovation and measuring success at the social networking company.

We partnered with XPLANE, the renowned “visual thinking” firm, to create a map of the corporate innovation ecosystem, along with discussion questions.

A RASCI matrix is a tool that can be used to build consistent support for innovation, while mitigating against common failure modes like role ambiguity, when people aren’t sure what exactly they’re supposed to do — or want to weigh in more than you’d like. This downloadable Excel spreadsheet is a sample RASCI matrix for […]

A look at the company’s approach to working with startups, told with a humorous “pac-man”-style narrative. Optum is a healthcare services company that is part of UnitedHealth Group.

A structured framework of the retailer’s Applied Innovation program, guided by senior leaders.

A guiding innovation model for Aon Health & Benefits, including guiding principles, flowcharts, and an illustrated R&D process.

An overview of the media company’s frameworks, including an innovation landscape map and a “sustained innovation capability maturity model.”

An overview of the insurance provider’s competitive landscape and strategy to thrive in the face of uncertainty, as well as the role that the foresight function plays.

A 27-page PDF detailing the company’s approach to innovation and its goals. Garlock is a manufacturer of seals and gaskets, and is a subsidiary of EnPro Industries.

A one-page overview of the data and analytics company’s approach to the “5-Ps Framework for Innovation.”

A really well-written treatise on the company’s approach to innovation, centered around telling stories. American Greetings, based in Ohio, makes greeting cards, party supplies, gifts, and operates a chain of retail outlets.

A framework for fostering productive discussions in order to make prototyping and project decisions. Includes a ranking system designed to “take groupthink out of the system.”

Short presentation from CVS Health Chief Digital Officer Brian Tilzer on how the company is working to “empower a connected health experience.”