idea

Variability (risk) can be handled in two ways:

The orthodoxy seeks to reduce variability and maximize predictability
Agility looks to exploit variability to drive innovation.

The pay-off of variability is asymmetric: benefits from successful deviation can be orders of magnitude more than its cost^[1].

links

Measuring productivity can be detrimental to innovation, since productivity is ofter tied to goals that are set and prevent teams from exploring other avenues.

references

Corporate explorer / Charles A. O'Reilly III, Andrew Binns and Michael Tushman

Manage uncertainty with ideation, incubation and scale disciplines.

Don’t let corporate functions control ventures – Finance and HR should not place rigid demands on new ventures, which require flexibility.

The Principles of Product Development Flow: Second Generation Lean Product Development [1]:

We frequently encounter strongly asymmetric payoffs in product development. The value of a success can be much higher than the cost of a failure.

~ The Principles of Product Development Flow: Second Generation Lean Product Development, Donald G Reinertsen