Amid this much change, merely trying to manage costs and raise productivity is unlikely to overcome the growth challenge that seven out of eight organisations face today. Instead, companies need to find emerging pockets of growth that can help them secure long-term success.
Innovation is critical to achieving that goal. Enduring outperformance requires management teams to refocus innovation efforts on fresh opportunities for growth and diversification – and to develop new products, invest in new business models and forge new partnerships to seize those opportunities.
By taking defensive measures such as conserving cash while also going on the offence, ‘ambidextrous leaders’ create value despite volatility, setting up their organisations to thrive in a world that has likely changed in fundamental ways….
Many companies are already acting: in our 2021 New Business Building Survey, respondents reported that, on average, they expect half of their revenues in the next five years to come from entirely new products, services and businesses….
From ‘Innovation: Your Solution for Weathering Uncertainty’, McKinsey & Co
