In my previous article, I introduced the IMAGINE mindset for innovation implementation, giving a brief overview of its components. However, I didn't delve into the "why" behind it, and I must admit, I might have committed a bit of a sin in the eyes of Simon Sinek!

Nevertheless, if you haven't had a chance to read about IMAGINE yet, you can find it here.

If you did read it, you'll quickly realize today that my 'why' is mainly covered by the "I" in the IMAGINE acronym, which stands for "Identify." To understand the full story, let's start from the beginning.

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The Traditional Innovation Lottery

Companies that lack a structured innovation program unwittingly operate under what I call the "submarine innovation model". This model is the default approach for most companies, where innovation occasionally emerges, resulting in unexpected success stories celebrated after the fact. Everybody is happy, celebrating success:

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”We are the best! We have some amazing talents in the company!”

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It's called submarine innovation because it occurs below the surface, remaining undetected until it surfaces. Teams with innovative ideas keep them under wraps, taking time and resources from other projects and budgets. This approach works well when profit margins are healthy since management tends to overlook cost scrutiny.

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About 25 years ago, a manager once explained this model to me using the "Tide Model" analogy. The water level represents profit margins. When margins are high, it's high tide, and the submarine can safely operate beneath the surface.

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However, this illustration doesn't quite capture reality. In reality, the bottom of the sea is littered with sunken submarines, representing the costs of fruitless projects that continue in the shadows. These costs are often hidden in overhead or a "dustbin budget." When a major project is losing money, a little more loss doesn't raise red flags.

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When competition intensifies, the water level starts to drop, and submarines can no longer operate below the surface. Many of them end up at the bottom of the sea.
The company performs some cleanup and regain its leadership. Competition is a healthy driving force.

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This model has been sufficient for many incumbent companies for decades. Unfortunately, emerging players and technologies have introduced disruption.

The title of this post was “From Submarine to Flywheel” and I have to admit that it was a bit to attract you, the transformation to a flywheel will come in the next posts. We need first to describe the basic concept of a flywheel. It will be the subject of part 2 of this blogpost series: "The Disruptive Innovation: From Flywheels to Boring-Wheels". We have all been taken in a flywheel… But what happens when the wheels turn boring?
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First Aid

If you are not sure, whether your company works in that Submarine Model or you do recognize it but you do not know how to change it: Just book a free 15 min call HERE and we will help you in your next step.

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This blog post is a part of the series “IMAGINE: I for Identify”

PART 0: The IMAGINE Innovation Mindset
‍PART 1 : From Submarine to Flywheel.
PART 2 : The Disruptive Innovation: From Flywheels to Boring-Wheels.
PART 3 : The Innovation Boring-Wheel Paradox.
PART 4 : Breaking free from Boring-wheels… USE CASE.

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