In your organization, does innovation mean finding new ways to exploit what you already do well, or exploring arenas where you’re unfamiliar and will make mistakes? Or both?
If you simply tell your employees and leaders that you want them to “innovate,” then even the most motivated and intelligent employees might steer their efforts in the wrong direction. For example, consider the difference between two pivotal innovative contributions employees could pursue in the car industry: making existing cars safer and more attractive for human drivers (exploiting the present), versus making cars that don’t need drivers at all (exploring the new).