One of the most critical challenges facing growth-seeking executives in large companies is deciding what constraints they should be placing on their organizations’ innovation efforts. Unconstrained efforts of the “let 1,000 flowers bloom” variety feel good, but often lead to diffused progress. On the other hand, incorrectly constrained innovation efforts carry well-documented risks. Companies that set the wrong boundaries leave themselves vulnerable to disruptive, game-changing start-ups. What kinds of constraints spur innovation and which ones kill it? Generally, we suggest that companies impose two key constraints.
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