Innovation Ambition Matrix

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Map active initiatives across customer novelty and product novelty to evaluate the team's current balance of incremental and breakthrough work.

Use it when: Use during quarterly planning or portfolio reviews when teams need to see if their current workload matches their stated strategic ambition.

Skip it when: Skip when the group is executing a single predefined deliverable with fixed scope or lacks discretion over project selection.

Group arrangement: Individual note writing followed by mapping at boards in groups of 4 to 8, concluding with a full-room portfolio review.

Timing: Source states 1 hour for 5 to 8 players. Maintained at 60 minutes with subgroup splits for up to 24 people.

Materials and tools

• 1 large matrix chart drawn on a whiteboard or flipchart poster per 4 to 8 participants
• 1 pad of 3x3 inch sticky notes per participant
• 1 medium-point black marker per participant

Before participants arrive

1. Draw the matrix on the board or poster.
2. Label the horizontal X-axis 'How to Win (Product Novelty)' with three ticks: Existing Products, Adding Incremental, New Products.
3. Label the vertical Y-axis 'Where to Play (Market Novelty)' with three ticks: Existing Markets, Adjacent Markets, New Markets.
4. Draw two concentric arc lines spreading out from the origin to create three bands: Core (closest to origin, combining existing products and existing markets), Adjacent (middle band, pushing into incremental products or adjacent markets), and Transformational (outer band, creating new products for new markets).

Say this to open

Today we are mapping our current portfolio of initiatives onto the Innovation Ambition Matrix. The horizontal axis, How to Win, tracks product novelty from existing products, to incremental additions, to entirely new products. The vertical axis, Where to Play, tracks customer novelty from existing customers, to adjacent markets, to brand new markets. Together they form three bands spreading outward: Core optimizes our current offerings for current users; Adjacent adds new features or expands into new customer segments; and Transformational creates breakthroughs for markets that do not yet exist. Please take sticky notes and write down your current active initiatives, one per note.

How to run it

1. Introduce matrix and write initiatives 10 minutes

   Read the opening script. Explain how the combination of the two axes forms the three zones, moving from the bottom-left origin outward. Give participants 5 minutes of quiet writing. Each person writes active initiatives on individual sticky notes in bold marker, aiming for 3 to 6 notes.

2. Subgroup placement and clustering 20 minutes

   If the group exceeds 8 people, split into parallel boards of 4 to 8. Participants take turns placing their notes in the Core, Adjacent, or Transformational band based on product and market novelty. As notes are placed, the subgroup clusters similar efforts and identifies duplicate work. Anyone who prefers to pass may place their notes without speaking or hand them to a peer.

3. Review portfolio balance 15 minutes

   Gather the full room around the boards. Review the distribution of notes across the three zones. Examine where initiatives cluster heavily, note empty zones, and flag where teams are running competing efforts that solve the same problem.

4. Action alignment and debrief 15 minutes

   Run the debrief questions to agree on immediate portfolio adjustments. Identify specific initiatives to merge, stop, or protect. Write agreed changes and named owners directly on the charts beside the relevant notes.

Debrief questions

• Looking at the board, what proportion of our actual daily effort sits in the Core versus Adjacent and Transformational bands?
• Where do we see two or more initiatives competing for the same resources or addressing the exact same need?
• Which specific initiative should we adjust, stop, or protect to align with our intended ambition?

Finished output: A mapped matrix of active initiatives categorized across core, adjacent, and transformational zones, with duplicated efforts flagged and action owners assigned.

Remote

Pre-draw the matrix on a shared digital whiteboard. In Step 1, participants type initiatives onto digital sticky notes. In Step 2, run breakouts of 4 to 8 on separate matrix frames, with participants dragging notes into bands while explaining placement over voice. Return to the main room for Steps 3 and 4.

Hybrid

Pair remote participants with an in-person partner or dedicated digital scribe. Display the digital matrix on the room screen. In-person participants write physical notes, which the scribe copies into the digital canvas so both groups view the identical shared map in real time.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may dictate initiatives to a peer or scribe instead of writing physical notes.
• Anyone may choose to observe the mapping process without posting personal initiatives.

If the session gets stuck

Participants debate endlessly whether an item sits in Core or Adjacent.

The boundary arcs represent a continuous gradient. Place the note directly across the dividing line and proceed.

Participants place almost every initiative into the Transformational band.

Ask if the initiative serves existing customers with updated features or targets an existing market. If so, move it back into Core or Adjacent.

Terms used here

• Core Innovation: Initiatives that optimize and extend current products for existing customers.
• Adjacent Innovation: Initiatives that expand into adjacent customer segments or add incremental capabilities to existing offerings.
• Transformational Innovation: Initiatives that develop completely new offerings for new, non-existing markets.