Managing Growth and Innovation Results Through Game Planning

  • The problem: Many organizations want “bigger, better, and faster” growth and innovation (G&I) but don’t have a game plan to back it up and blaze the path to economic returns.
  • The analysis: North Highland believes leaders who link G&I roadmaps, portfolios, and pipelines with well-designed, competitive game plans are best positioned for superior ROIs on growth and innovation.
  • The solution: North Highland has identified a path for organizations to drive growth and innovation results by screening and selecting the best game plans using three key steps: 
    • Root your G&I aspirations and strategy in the overall business goals and what growth and innovation are expected to contribute to the business.
    • Identify and screen specific game options that will fulfill your business goals, G&I aspirations, and strategy.
    • Apply a sniff test to evaluate high-potential game plans for their appropriateness to deliver the G&I results.

North Highland Insights & Acknowledgement 

In 2017, a North Highland-sponsored survey of 200 senior business leaders uncovered executives’ need to employ well-conceived, practical game planning to increase their returns on G&I investments. This report draws on those insights and builds on our 2018 work with clients as they pursue growth and innovation across their markets and industries. We have had the privilege of working with executives accelerating G&I in the exciting areas of artificial intelligence, smart cities, digital technologies, healthcare tech, consumer and industrial goods/services—to name just a few. We have witnessed their willingness to embrace G&I game planning and appreciate their valuable thinking and actions that made this paper possible.

In this piece, you will see examples of leaders who have successfully linked G&I roadmaps, portfolios, and pipelines with well-designed, competitive game plans who then saw superior ROIs on growth and innovation. Examples of the case studies we discuss include: Harley Davidson, Walmart and Major League Baseball.