Major League Innovation

If you're an innovation manager struggling to assess your pipeline and assemble a balanced portfolio of growth initiatives, you may find inspiration in Major League Baseball's general managers. They, like you, are constantly shifting their lineups under high degrees of uncertainty while trying to balance stakeholders' demands for immediate results against history's likely judgment of their own choices. Here are some ways to adapt the solutions they've found. Before the sabermetrics revolution in baseball, managers generally dismissed minor league statistics -- which turned out to be highly useful predictors of success. Business innovators who likewise learn to analyze information more insightfully can devise better tactics and make investment and personnel decisions more wisely. A ball club's depth chart, illustrating the bench strength for every position, signals strategic priorities. Companies can think the same way about their innovation portfolios to balance offensive and defensive strategies, explore new channels or geographies, and significantly alter platform or marketing approaches. Baseball's farm system allows teams to identify and coach promising players in lower-pressure environments. Innovation executives can similarly organize test-market research and regional rollouts to expose new offerings to steadily increasing levels of scrutiny from prospective customers. Procter & Gamble has been a leader on this front with its Swash fabric-care products and Tide-branded dry cleaners. INSETS: Sizing Up an Innovation's Potential;Build Your Organization's Depth Chart.