The Five Phases of the Strategy Innovation Process

The strategy innovation process is a method for creating a portfolio of innovative, new business opportunities that could become the basis for a new strategic direction for your corporation. Corporate teams that have taken these journeys liken themselves to reconnaissance teams, sent by their companies to explore the strategic frontiers of their industries.

The Strategic Innovation Process is a series of phases, not a linear series of steps By carrying out the phases, your company will avoid some of the process pitfalls that arise when doing cross functional work at the strategic level. The specific steps to be taken within each phase must be determined by each company individually.

A summary of the five phases is as follows:

1. Staging Phase. In this phase, the Strategic Innovation team is selected, key roles are identified, the objectives of the initiative are established, and the team is prepared for the process.

2. Aligning Phase. The Strategic Innovation team and senior management align themselves on the focus and scope of the initiative, agreeing on the ‘‘strategic frontier(s)’’ to be explored.

3. Exploring Phase. The goal of this phase is the collection of new insights on the strategic frontier that can form the basis of new, value-producing business opportunities in the future. Depending on the strategic frontier and the scope of the initiative, teams will explore insights related to different exploration ‘‘vectors,’’ including customer value, market dynamics, and/or business model innovation.

4. Creating Phase. Using the new insights gained, the Strategic Innovation team will create and refine a portfolio of new business opportunities for the future.

5. Mapping Phase. In this final phase, the team will create a strategic road map outlining key events, trends, market discontinuities, and milestones to move the company into its new strategic future.