INTANGIBLES OF INNOVATION
Behind every breakthrough innovation are breakthrough leaders.
Most executives are trained to optimize a running business—efficiency, planning, risk control. But new growth plays by different rules: uncertainty, creativity, and speed. The Intangibles of Innovation are the leadership principles that power originators—the leaders who can move ideas into customer traction and turn change into growth
What are Intangibles?
Intangibles are the hidden operating system of innovation leadership. They are the principles quietly driving how executives decide, adapt, and execute in high pressure change environments.
You won’t find them in spreadsheets or org charts. Yet they are the single strongest predictor of whether your organization grows — or stalls.
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At their core are the Innovation Operating Principles (IOP) — timeless truths of leadership that don’t shift with fads. They define how great leaders turn uncertainty into growth.
THE FOUR BUSINESS DRIVERS OF INNOVATION
Every successful innovation effort rises or falls on these four drivers. Together, they form the operating system of growth.
GROWTH
How capacity builds through learning and adaptation
SCRAPPINESS
How leaders meet constraints with urgency and grit
CREATION
How ideas become validated solutions
STRATEGY
How vision becomes decisive execution
Building intangible leadership capacity
INSI doesn't just assess. It builds. It's how high-performing teams turn strategy into results.
DIAGNOSE
Identify hidden strengths and growth opportunities across your teams.
ALIGN
Align your strategy with the future competencies needed for growth.
GROW
Boost innovation outcomes and prepare your team for sustainable success.
"Innovation shouldn’t just be that next big, shiny thing—it needs to be embedded in the fabric of the organization: people, process, products, everything. C\R didn’t just advise—they helped us build. Their tools and process gave us the clarity, alignment, and momentum we needed to make innovation real inside TriZetto.”
- Diana Benli
Chief Product Officer, TriZetto Products Group at Cognizant