In this paper, a successful enterprise innovation strategy is likened to a Rubik’s Cube, but the path to a successful innovation strategy has proven to be even more complex than this iconic puzzle.
The three-by-three-by-three Rubik’s Cube puzzle has been solved in less than 10 seconds. Since 1974, a standard puzzle notation has matured to encourage the development of puzzle-solving algorithms and software. More than a thousand videos can be found online—all demonstrating step-by-step strategies for solving the puzzle. But no such standard notation or step-by-step strategy exists for the development of an enterprise innovation strategy, as it depends on an array of complex enterprise innovation forces.
The modern enterprise must resist the temptation to allow a single force #8212;be it operational excellence or customer intimacy or product leadership—to completely dominate the innovation character of the enterprise.
