Introduction
Successful innovation requires a balanced portfolio — you should not put all your eggs in one basket. Too much focus on incremental improvements leads to stagnation in the long run. Too much focus on radical innovation ties up resources without generating any short-term return. Synergie-Services' innovation portfolio management helps companies find the right balance.
The portfolio is managed along three dimensions: time horizon (short, medium and long term), degree of innovation (incremental, evolutionary, disruptive) and strategic cluster (margin-increasing, revenue-accelerating, cash-flow-relieving). For each company, we define an individual target portfolio that suits its strategy, risk profile and available resources.
Key aspects
The portfolio matrix
A visual matrix plots all innovation projects by risk, expected impact and time horizon. Imbalances become visible immediately and can be corrected.
Stage-gate process
Every innovation project passes through defined decision points. At each gate, a decision is made on the basis of the latest findings: continue, pivot or stop. This means misallocations are corrected early.
Resource allocation
A proven rule of thumb: 70% of innovation resources for short-term margin levers, 20% for medium-term growth initiatives and 10% for long-term, disruptive projects.
Conclusion
Innovation portfolio management makes innovation manageable and predictable. Use our Innovation Tracker to optimise your portfolio.