Most organisations do not fail because they lack ideas. They fail because they put ideas in the wrong category. A bridge technology gets dismissed as a compromise. A revival candidate gets mistaken for an obsolete asset. A platform gets treated like a product. A product that should end survives because it has internal champions. This article looks at eight real cases, including Kodak, Xerox PARC, ASML, Java, Google Reader, Stadia, RISC-V, Arm and IBM PC, to show how companies decide what to build, spin out, archive, open, license, sell or let die.
innovation strategy
5 posts
The future rarely arrives fully formed. Before the moonshot becomes real, something quieter usually ships first: a teleoperated robot, an AI-assisted design tool, a diagnostic kiosk, or a narrow infrastructure layer that solves today’s problem while preparing the ground for tomorrow’s breakthrough. This article introduces the bridge economy: the overlooked layer of transitional technologies that sit between current constraints and ultimate technological ambitions.
Q1 2026 will reward businesses tied to real demand drivers like AI infrastructure, energy reliability, logistics, healthcare access, and compliance. This edition maps high-potential business bets across major world regions, split into small, medium, and large opportunity bands, including portability signals and risk tags to guide execution.
This case study stress tests the New New Design framework against a real business concept. It shows how theory reshapes strategy, exposes hidden risks, and elevates a simple idea into cultural infrastructure.
The Ideas Broker is an emerging career for people who connect ideas across disciplines. This article explores the skills, paths, and opportunities shaping this new professional identity.