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8 Essential Actions to Define Your Innovation Strategy in 2026

Most companies call innovation a top priority. Few have a strategy the business will act on and fund. This report gives your leadership team a proven way to build one, in a focused two or three-day sprint.

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60 pages · 8 tools · PDF and online
What you walk away with
  • A shared, honest baseline of where innovation stands today
  • A short list of bets tied to your corporate growth priorities
  • An investment case and roadmap your board can say yes to

By Thomas Van Halewyck, CEO and Leyash Pillay, Head of Marketing

Drawn from venture work with
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Why this report exists

The landscape has changed. Has your innovation strategy?

Innovation cycles have compressed from years to months. Efficiency-first plans are under pressure, and teams are shrinking. The operating model that worked in 2020 will not deliver in 2026.

83%

of companies rank innovation as a top-three priority. Only 3% are ready to deliver.

12%

link innovation to business strategy in a way that delivers real impact.

8%

of CEOs say they have the practices to turn innovation ambition into results.

52%

of executives name an unclear or overly broad strategy as a top-three challenge.

Figures from consolidated industry reports, 2024 to 2026.

The gap is rarely ambition. It is a strategy the business can act on, fund, and own.

What changes

Eight actions. Three things you will have at the end.

Each action builds on the last and comes with a tool your team runs live, in the room or remotely.

Foundation

Know where you really stand

  • 1DiagnoseMap your innovation baseline
  • 2AlignLink to corporate priorities
Direction

Decide where to play

  • 3FocusIdentify your innovation horizons
  • 4ScoutDefine your value spaces
  • 5DesignArchitect your ecosystem
Activation

Get it funded and moving

  • 6SecureCreate your innovation case
  • 7StructureBuild your venture pipeline
  • 8ActivateLock in your roadmap
Inside the report

Built to be run, not just read.

8Actions, in sequence
8Tools, online and print
2 or 3Day sprint schedules
1Case worked end to end, with L’Oréal
The eight tools, ready to run live on a shared board. Also available as a printable PDF.
Pages from the report
01The new growth reality
02The 8 actions, in three layers
03The 2-day sprint schedule
04Action 1, Diagnose
05L'Oréal, worked through the Diagnostic tool
06Who should be in the room
Who it is for

Written for the people who set the agenda.

Innovation strategies break down when the right decision-makers are not involved. The closer your sprint gets to this group, the stronger the output.

CEO or Managing DirectorSets the mandate and clears competing priorities.
Chief Strategy OfficerTies innovation to corporate growth goals.
Head of InnovationOwns the portfolio, the funnel, and the execution.
Chief Digital or AI OfficerBrings the lens on what is now possible.
Director of CVCControls the investment vehicles and deal flow.
Business Unit GMProvides the market reality check and route to scale.
Head of PartnershipsConnects internal goals to external networks.
Head of SustainabilityKeeps the thesis inside your ESG commitments.

“We’ve entered a new era of innovation, where AI, global ecosystems and cutting-edge venture models are redefining what’s possible.”

Thomas Van Halewyck, CEO

Get the report.

The framework, the eight tools, both sprint schedules, and the full L’Oréal case. Free, and in your inbox in a minute.

Want to run the sprint with us?Talk to Thomas