Article Summary
- The key focus should shift from chasing trends to solving validated user problems that deliver customer value.
- Bottlenecks in decision-making processes and unclear governance structures often stall progress and need systemic fixes.
- Innovation efforts must be designed for scale, not reliant on individuals or siloed processes.
- Ecosystem collaboration should move beyond one-off partnerships to long-term, co-creative strategies with aligned goals.
- AI must be embedded across the entire innovation lifecycle instead of treated as an add-on feature.
What questions should innovation leaders be asking in H2 2025?
Innovation isn't necessarily about having all the answers when you start a project, but about asking the right questions. The kind that expose bottlenecks, challenge assumptions, and unlock smarter ways of working.
That said, below are five essential questions to help you lead with clarity, relevance, and resilience this quarter.
1. Are we building something people will actually use, or just something that sounds innovative?
Why this matters:
It’s dangerously easy to mistake activity for progress. Innovation theater such as pitch decks, prototypes, pilots, can give stakeholders the illusion that something valuable is happening. But unless those efforts are tied to a real, validated problem, you’re just burning time and resources.
As Clayton Christensen discussed in "The Innovator’s Dilemma," too often companies mistake activity for progress by chasing trends rather than solving real user needs. An article by CB Insights shows that the majority of failed product launches stem from a lack of customer validation, underlining the importance of anchoring efforts to proven market problems.
Real innovation isn’t about being first to the trend, but being first to solve a real pain point in a way that customers care about (and are willing to pay for).
Common pitfalls:
- Chasing shiny tech. Teams latch onto the latest buzzwords (AI, blockchain, sustainability, you name it) before they’ve confirmed a strong use case. But just because it’s trending doesn’t mean it’s useful, for your customers or your business model.
- Solving internal frustrations. Optimizing internal processes may feel productive, but if it doesn’t translate to external impact or customer value, it unfortunately won't drive any growth.
- Confirmation bias in validation. Too often, teams conduct customer interviews or prototype tests after decisions are already made, using feedback to justify ideas, not challenge them. This creates a false sense of confidence and blinds teams to deeper market signals.
How to approach this instead:
- Don’t start with unmet needs, start with ideas. The approach should be to begin every initiative with a clearly defined user problem or friction point, backed by evidence. To do so, run structured interviews, usability tests, or co-creation workshops.
- Leverage innovation management platforms to structure feedback loops. Platforms like innosabi can centralize idea collection, feedback, evaluation, and analytics, making validation faster, visible, and repeatable.
- Make evidence a requirement. At each decision point, require real data (never assumptions), to advance from ideation to development.
2. Where are our decision-making bottlenecks (and how do we unblock them)?
Why this matters:
A good idea delayed is a good idea lost, so innovation requires speed. But too many times, promising concepts stall because teams are unclear on who can make what call, or because sign-offs are buried under layers of bureaucracy. And that delay? It’s more costly than most failed experiments.
Keep this in mind: If you can’t move fast, you can’t innovate at scale.
Common pitfalls:
- Opaque ownership. Teams waste days chasing approvals or looping in the wrong stakeholders because nobody has a clear picture of the decision chain.
- Over-engineered governance. When even small experiments require C-level approval, the system is working against itself.
- Tool overload. Teams juggle five platforms to do what one could accomplish, leading to version confusion, missed updates, and decision fatigue.
How to approach this instead:
- Audit your innovation workflows like a service. You can create a governance blueprint: Who makes which decisions? At what stage? What inputs are needed? Then, make it visible and clear to everyone involved.
- Centralize visibility. Tools like innosabi can bring ideas, feedback, ownership, and approvals into one shared space. The result? Fewer miscommunications, faster turnarounds. A win-win.
- Create tiered approval tracks. Not all initiatives carry the same promise or risk. To avoid wasting time, try building "fast lanes" for low-stakes testing and reserve senior decision-makers for the bets that actually require their attention.
3. Can our innovation efforts scale, or are we simply reinventing the wheel over and over again?
Why this matters:
It’s one thing to run a successful pilot. But it’s a whole other to deliver repeatable innovation across regions, business units, or product lines. The problem here is not that organizations have big ambitions, but that they overly rely on inconsistent processes (or individual champions) to make things happen.
This is to say, if your innovation success depends on a few star performers, this could represent a fragile setup that crumbles when they move on.
Common pitfalls:
- Hero-based execution. A handful of talented individuals drive most of the output. When they leave or shift roles, the momentum fades down until it dies.
- No standard operating model. Teams run projects in completely different ways, with no shared language, process, or expectations. This is chaos at scale.
- Accumulated innovation debt. Legacy tools, disjointed workflows, and makeshift processes create friction every time a new project kicks off.
How to approach this instead:
- Define a more formal innovation framework: Specify exactly how ideas are sourced, evaluated, and advanced. Ensure every team can follow the same structured process (i.e. make it easy for people to plug-and-play without any bottlenecks). Use internal ambassadors to spread the word and share the message internally.
- Design for replication. Your methods should work whether you're running a project in Singapore, São Paulo, or Stuttgart. Standardize just enough, but bear in mind to leave room for local flexibility where needed.
- Invest in scalable infrastructure. Use modular platforms that grow with your organization, support cross-unit collaboration, and evolve as your innovation maturity increases.
4. Are we fully leveraging the value of our innovation ecosystem?
Why this matters:
True innovation often punctures beyond internal walls, and many breakthroughs come from your ecosystem (such as startups, research labs, universities, suppliers, and even unexpected competitors).
For a strategic breakdown of how thoughtful, early communication with both internal and external stakeholders can transform a simple idea into a scalable innovation platform, check out this insightful piece on scaling innovation through stakeholder communication.
Harvard’s Henry Chesbrough, in “Open Innovation,” introduced the importance of reaching beyond company walls to unlock transformative value.
It’s not just about who you partner with. To really unlock that potential, you need an ecosystem strategy that brings people together, shares knowledge openly, and keeps everyone moving in the same direction.
Common pitfalls:
- Tactical partnerships. Many companies approach ecosystem engagement as a checkbox: a hackathon here, a one-off pilot there. The issue is that, without a long-term vision, partnerships will never evolve beyond surface-level impact.
- One-sided collaborations. When you treat partners simply as suppliers of ideas or as extra hands to execute, the relationship becomes purely transactional. True co-creation happens when everyone involved has shared ownership and mutual benefit.
- Blind spots across the network. Without a clear overview of who’s involved, what initiatives are underway, and where efforts overlap, you risk duplicating work or overlooking key opportunities for collaboration.
How to approach this instead:
- Treat ecosystem engagement as a core strategy. Build dedicated open innovation programs with defined goals, governance, and a clear value proposition for all parties.
For a closer look at the real-world roadblocks companies face when opening up their innovation processes, this deep dive into the challenges in open innovation unpacks the most common pitfalls and what it takes to overcome them
- Establish infrastructure for collaboration. Tools can (and should) be used to manage everything from IP agreements to project timelines, partner onboarding, and progress tracking.
- Emphasize alignment and shared goals. Align on a shared vision early. Successful ecosystems aren’t built on one-sided agendas, so ensure every partner understands the broader goal and as well how their contribution fits into the bigger picture.
Tip: Ecosystem success isn’t about quantity (more partners) but quality (aligned incentives and clear shared outcomes). Start small, build relationships, create systems, and scale what works.
5. Is our organization structured to thrive in an AI-driven future?
Why this matters:
From spotting trends to testing ideas, deciding what to focus on, and sharing results, AI is reshaping every part of the process.
The companies that will lead aren’t just using AI—they’re building their innovation systems around it. That means rethinking the skills you need, how teams work together, and how decisions get made.
Want a look ahead? Here’s how AI, ecosystems, and innovation models are evolving in 2025.
Common pitfalls:
- Treating AI like a side project. If you only use AI for quick brainstorming or basic prototypes, you’re completely missing the bigger opportunity: to redesign how ideas are found, tested, and scaled.
- Skill gaps across the team. Surprisingly enough, many teams still don’t know how to write effective prompts, interpret AI outputs, or turn insights into action. That, in turn, limits what AI can actually deliver.
- Scattered, one-off experiments. When AI pilots happen in silos with no shared learning or rollout strategy, it’s hard to build momentum (or even to see real ROI).
How to approach this instead:
- Level up your team’s AI skills. Don’t wait any longer to make hands-on training a priority, from smart prompting to creative applications of generative AI. These skills have gone from optional to essential.
- Bring AI into every step of innovation. Don’t treat it as a tool for just one phase and call it a day. Use it as well to scan for opportunities, validate ideas faster, and craft clearer internal narratives.
- Integrate AI into your decision-making layer. Don’t just use AI for discovery or execution, use it to inform prioritization. From clustering high-potential ideas to forecasting impact, AI can help you make smarter bets faster, and thus innovate faster.
Shift your mindset: AI won’t replace innovation teams. But teams that understand how to collaborate with AI will replace those that don’t.
Ask sharper questions. Then turn them into action.
Whether it’s AI, ecosystems, scaling pilots, or cutting through decision gridlock, the challenges facing innovation leaders today aren’t one-off problems. They’re symptoms of outdated workflows, scattered tools, and siloed thinking.
Here’s the upside: Every question in this article points to something that can be designed:
- Better validation systems
- Faster decision frameworks
- Scalable infrastructure
- Stronger ecosystem alignment
- Innovation models with AI baked in from the start
That’s exactly where innosabi comes in.
innosabi is built for those who believe better is always possible.
The ones pushing boundaries, embedding innovation into everyday work, and shaping what’s next.
We help leading organizations move from scattered efforts to structured, repeatable innovation, using technology designed for modern challenges. Whether you're scaling what works, integrating AI, or building stronger bridges with your ecosystem, innosabi gives you the platform, visibility, and tools to act on what matters.
Trusted by global innovators like Coca-Cola, Danone, AstraZeneca, BASF, and Deutsche Telekom, our Innovation Management Platform adapts to your needs and scales with your ambition.
With seamless integration into existing workflows, enterprise-grade security, and a user-first approach, innovation flows naturally, and drives real, lasting impact.
Asking the right questions is only the beginning.
What you do with the answers is what sets true innovators apart. Because we believe better is possible.
FAQ: Innovation Strategy and Leadership in 2025
What are the biggest blockers to innovation in large organizations?
Common innovation blockers include unclear governance structures, decision-making bottlenecks, lack of customer validation, and overreliance on siloed tools or individual champions.
How can companies validate innovation ideas more effectively?
It starts with identifying a real, user-validated problem. Use structured interviews, usability tests, or co-creation sessions to gather evidence. Platforms like innosabi help centralize and streamline this process, turning validation into a repeatable part of your workflow instead of a one-off task.
How can we make our innovation processes scalable?
Define a shared innovation framework across teams, build fast lanes for low-risk ideas, and use modular infrastructure that supports collaboration and visibility.
What role should AI play in innovation strategy?
AI shouldn’t be a side tool, but embedded across the entire innovation lifecycle. That includes idea generation, opportunity scanning, decision support, and communication. Teams that invest in upskilling and integrating AI into core workflows will outpace those that treat it as an occasional add-on.
