Many people believe that the process for achieving breakthrough innovations is chaotic, random, and unmanageable. Gary P. Pisano, faculty cochair of Strategic Agility—Virtual, and Noubar Afeyan, founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering, argue that this view is flawed. In this article, they discuss how to systematically generate breakthroughs using a process modeled on the principles that drive evolution in nature: variance generation, which engenders a variety of life-forms; and selection pressure, which drives the selection of those best equipped to survive. |