The Case for Stealth Innovation

Abstract

You have an idea for an innovative project that could have a significant impact on your business. But you also suspect that your idea will meet internal resistance: If realized, it would upend the status quo, and if you were to send it through the regular process for creating new projects, other parts of the organization would probably try to kill it along the way. So what's your next step? The conventional answer is to get a mandate from the top. This strategy, however, carries its own set of risks. In most large firms, CEOs are constantly barraged with ideas for new projects, and most often, they give the pitches a five-minute perusal followed by a no. And even if you do get the support from the top, the corporate spotlight can be a dangerous place for young, unproven ideas. In this article, authors Paddy Miller and Thomas Wedell Wedellsborg propose a different way to get your idea off the starting block: stealth innovation. They describe how to nurture your idea under the radar, which involves facing four key challenges: finding allies who can support you on the sly; building a proof of concept; accessing funds on the quiet; and developing a good cover story to deflect unwanted early attention from your idea. HBR Reprint R13O3G INSETS: Idea in Brief;When Should You Innovate Under the Radar?.

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