Did you get a chance to read our posts about how to develop and foster defiant and adventurous talent in your organization? Now you should focus on ‘realism’ to balance the scales. If defiance and adventure represent one side of the scale, where free thinking and endless creativity reign, realism is the crossover to the here and now. Ultimately, innovative growth comes from evidence-based entrepreneurship. When the dust settles, there has to be a method to the madness.
Driving innovative growth with data
The adventurer immerses himself in experiments while the realist looks for good, clean data to drive innovative growth. This data is bound to sprout from the experimental phase. Thus, the realist has a great interest in how these experiments are set up and conducted. This is where things get interesting. Obviously, the adventurer wants to see his new endeavors succeed and is looking for any shred of positive reinforcement. Especially in corporate environments, driving innovative growth requires a lot of convincing. In the past, we used to rule by business cases. The adventurer, however, would say that a business case is for non-believers. The realist – often in a functional controlling role – wouldn’t accept anything less than an impressive spreadsheet complete with intricate sensitivity analyses. In practice, neither of them was right.
The good news is that we don’t design products and services by committee anymore. Right? The mantra of ‘GOOB’ – Get Out Of the Building – has been firmly ingrained in the innovator’s mind. We seek early feedback from users and other stakeholders to guide us in our innovation journey. But we also have to be careful not to overestimate our ability to gather useful data. Many innovators fit into the category of insecure overachievers. They think that just by talking about our products and services we get data.

Collecting reliable information
The truth is, many people are looking for compliments. We simply hate to be proven wrong and get discouraged when someone doesn’t fall head over heels in love with our ideas. The love-struck innovator risks accepting false positives and builds his business on a state of bliss. Compliments are bad data. We have to learn to actively ignore compliments. The only way to do this is to remove ourselves – and our ego – from the equation. If you want to learn how, check Rob Fitzpatrick’s The Mom Test, a deceptively simple method of getting dependable customer feedback.
Getting it right is so darn difficult. When you look at the track record of venture capital firms – people whose sheer existence depends on making the right investment choices – you see the evidence. VCs are wrong 80 or 90% of the time. There are many variables involved in making the right choices. In fact, that sheer amount of failure has become the VC norm, resulting in countless relatively small stakes, that might finally end up with one jackpot winner.
Gut feel vs cold hard facts
Realism is required to get the right balance between gut feel and cold, hard facts. Organizations that lack an effective experimentation capacity often suffer from two symptoms in their quest for decision making: the ‘hippo syndrome’ and or ‘analysis paralysis.’ The hippo syndrome is an acronym for ‘highest paid person’s opinion.’ It basically refers to the powerplay exerted by C-level executives who just want things their way. ‘Analysis paralysis’ describes a state of paralysis caused by over-analyzing and over-thinking situations. The net result is that innovative growth will not happen. We are basically waiting for the perfect solution to come out of the woodwork.
There are many startup sayings in vogue, but the one most relevant to this topic is ‘done is better than perfect.’ This might be a tough pill to swallow in a corporate setting. We often deal with carefully built-up reputations and the consequences of failure are high. But unless you are in the business of curing life-threatening diseases or building nuclear power plants, the stakes are often not as high as imagined from the inside. Customers are most of the time very understanding of – even attracted to – businesses that launch new products and services early, to get into a process of ‘learn and confirm.’ Just think about all of the beta programs companies like Microsoft, Google, Apple and Sonos are running. If you can get customers to spend time, money and their own reputation on your early product, you are likely to get quality data.
Another aspect of realism that is key for innovative growth, is the pivot. There are very few products, services and even businesses that have remained unchanged since their inception. When growth hypotheses are falsified a pivot of some kind is imminent. We will go into more detail in later posts, discussing the various pivots and difficulty in making these hard choices.
Enabling innovative growth with the right metrics
Ultimately, in order for innovative growth to bear fruit in the organization, the rules of the game need to be clear. There needs to be a shared set of checks and balances to accelerate growth. So many times, we have encountered CEOs dealing with this the wrong way. With all good intentions they never cease to ask for the wrong metrics in the wrong phase of innovative ventures. We call this the deadly ROI question. The question that kills all new great ideas. Just because it is the wrong question to ask at an early stage of new, uncertain and risky ventures. Instead we should get the right metrics in place. Metrics that matter. That stimulate growth and common understanding throughout the organization.
We will touch upon setting the right expectation and adopting the right metric in a future post. For now, let’s finish the mindset first with Endurance in the last blog of the DARE series. Catch you back here next week!

Introducing DARE: The Mindset for Successful Innovators in The Digital Age
Learn how successful innovators and business leaders realize growth with DARE – now Amazon’s #1 best-selling title!
Eric de Groot
Boardroom strategist with unparalleled creative brainpower. Always focused on growth. Creates speed by combining business modeling with inventive pragmatic solutions. Invests in involvement over a sustained period.
Related Posts
January 22, 2021
Disappointed by your innovation success rate?
Disappointed by your innovation success…
January 7, 2021
Strategies to counter disruption or to become a disrupter yourself
We see the same things happening in the…
November 3, 2020
Why Innovation is Crucial to Your Future Success
You don’t want the competition to take…
October 1, 2020
3 Winning models for Innovation Brainstorms. Part 3: Innovation Ambition Matrix
This post is the final of three that…
September 24, 2020
3 Winning models for Innovation Brainstorms. Part 2: Four Lenses of Innovation
This post is the second of three that…
September 10, 2020
3 Winning models for Innovation Brainstorms. Part 1: Ten Types of Innovation
This post is the first of three that…
August 13, 2020
5 Growth Mindset Examples That You Can Use in Your Job Tomorrow
People who believe their success is…
August 13, 2020
First-Mover Disadvantage: 9 Reasons Why Being First to Market Doesn’t Pay Off
Strongly popularized during the last 25…
August 6, 2020
5 Ways to Become an Innovator in Your Industry
July 23, 2020
Why Lean Startup Doesn’t Always Work in Corporates as it Does in Startups
Over the last few years, Lean Startup…
July 16, 2020
How to define your North Star and why does it matter?
In order to create something new for…
April 22, 2020
Why customer lifetime value analysis is now more important than ever
Over the course of the last weeks we,…
April 16, 2020
Making data driven predictions about the spread of COVID19
How will the COVID19 spread? How many…
April 15, 2020
The three stages of growth: Initiate – Create – Scale
When we took a closer look at the…
April 10, 2020
Leonardo da Vinci – the quintessential growth entrepreneur
Leonardo da Vinci blended intense…
April 18, 2019
How to Design Winning Business Models in a Digital World
The five main take-aways to become a…
March 27, 2019
What Is a “Big Hairy Audacious Goal” (And Why Should You Know)?
Spoiler alert: a BHAG will inspire your…
March 13, 2019
7 Cognitive Biases and How to Use them in Marketing & Sales
Consumer behavior is shaped by the same…
March 4, 2019
9 Psychological Tricks to Influence Consumer Behavior (and Grow Your Business)
As marketers and salespeople, you…
March 1, 2019
How To Work As a Lean Startup in a Big(ger) Organization
The Lean Startup approach can give big…
February 27, 2019
4 Reasons Why Startups Are Great Investment Opportunities
The partnership between bigger, mature…
February 22, 2019
What I Learned From Amazon’s Jeff Bezos: How To Stay Customer-centric
Amazon is known as one of the most…
February 20, 2019
What is the North Star Metric and Why Does It Matter?
Sean Ellis defines the North Star…
February 15, 2019
7 Business Revenue Models That Will Inspire You
A smart revenue model is the core of…
February 13, 2019
Atomic Habits: How to Get a Little Better Every Day
There is much that business leaders can…
February 11, 2019
The Top 7 Podcasts That Help You Grow Your Business
There are many examples of podcasts…
February 6, 2019
What Is Reviewification, and Why Is It Changing Consumer Behavior?
Customer reviews are all around us and…
February 4, 2019
How 3 Businesses Thrived by Applying Lean Startup
Lean Startup really works. Meet these…
January 25, 2019
The Readability Rulebook: How to Write More Effective Copy
Your online copy's readability is…
January 23, 2019
If You Want To Boost Organizational Growth—Do This!
If you want your organization to grow,…
December 24, 2018
You Want to Create a Partnership or Joint Venture? Read This Checklist First!
For a big corporation, a partnership…
December 17, 2018
Want to Optimize the Customer Journey? Try These Tools!
The concept of the "customer journey"…
December 12, 2018
So You Want to Buy a Startup? Don’t %$@#! it Up!
When acquiring a startup business,…
December 10, 2018
How I Used a Go-To-Market Plan to Innovate Home Decoration
This is an inspiring example of a…
November 27, 2018
How To Build a Growth Roadmap; a Step-by-step Approach
At RevelX, we believe in the advantages…
November 19, 2018
How Your Business Benefits From a Growth Roadmap
A growth roadmap is a document in which…
November 15, 2018
How To Accelerate Your Performance Management
Performance management can be described…
October 22, 2018
8 Inspiring Examples of a Minimum Viable Product
How Amazon, Google and BDRThermea used…
October 9, 2018
Why Multi-disciplinary Growth Teams are a Necessity for Business
Best-in-class innovators recognize the…
October 8, 2018
Ideation Process Was Awesome, But Don’t Let It Sit on the Shelf
The ideation process feels sometimes as…
October 1, 2018
Why You Need a Go-To-Market Plan (and How to Create It)
Just launching a product can result in…
September 26, 2018
Experimentation Culture: What I Learned from the Beatles
The Beatles knew that creativity is not…
September 25, 2018
What Is the Platform Economy (and Why You Should Care)?
"Digital matchmakers" such as Amazon,…
September 10, 2018
10 Types of Innovation, 3 Horizons of Growth, and How To Use Them
Innovation models can help your…
September 5, 2018
How Value Proposition Design Makes You a Winner
Many teams struggle with defining a…
August 29, 2018
What Is a Growth Mindset (And Why Should You Know About It)?
“Growth mindset” is a concept from the…
August 3, 2018
Jeroen van der Vlugt on Why Sports Innovation Is Important
"Sports innovation never stops, that is…
July 30, 2018
How Augmented Reality Improves the Shopping Experience
Augmented Reality is changing the way…
July 25, 2018
So You Want to Innovate? Here are 8 Drivers for Success!
What makes the difference between…
July 23, 2018
Before You Start Growth Hacking…Fix the Plumbing!
Before you start growth hacking, there…
July 17, 2018
3 Ways External Data Can Help Grow Your Business
We’ve all heard that we should be using…
July 10, 2018
How “Minority Report” Predicted the Internet of Everything
Today, individuals, devices, and…
July 6, 2018
4 Reasons Why Algorithms Are Crucial To Today’s Businesses
Search engines, social media and…
July 2, 2018
Accelerator versus Incubator: 5 Differences that Will Impact Which Model You Should Choose
Accelerator and Incubator programs both…
June 29, 2018
7 Tools that Offer Direct Scheduling to Instagram
For years, scheduling Instagram posts…
June 22, 2018
How to Deal with the Industrial Internet of Things (and Why You Should)
The adoption of IoT in industry is just…
June 20, 2018
3 Industries that Will be Disrupted by Blockchain Technology
Cryptocurrency and blockchain…
June 13, 2018
Vanity Metrics vs. Actionable Metrics: Measure What Matters
Measuring and analyzing data is one of…
June 7, 2018
Inside-out or Outside-in? 4 Reasons Why Your Business Has to Change
In the old days, a business model was…
June 1, 2018
How Amazon, Google, and Belsimpel Perfected the Customer Journey (And How To Apply These Lessons)
Some companies confuse the different…
May 30, 2018
Raphael Nouwen (Triodos Bank): This is Why Investors Say ‘No’!
"Remember, 'no' is not necessarily a…
May 16, 2018
Business Strategy: 4 Steps to Win the Innovation Battle
To innovate successfully, you will need…
May 9, 2018
Fail Hacks: 6 Amazing Tricks to Kill Your Conversion Rates
Read these amazing “fail hacks” that…
May 7, 2018
Digital Growth Hacker Marketing: The Ultimate List of Amazing Case Studies
24 inspiring examples of growth-hacker…
April 30, 2018
Artificial Intelligence Is Not the Answer To All Marketing Challenges (and That’s OK)
The possibilities of artificial…
April 24, 2018
4 Amazing Tips to Optimize Your Landing Page and Generate More Leads
To generate a maximum number of leads,…
April 17, 2018
4 Trends That Shape the World of Digital Marketing (and how to apply them)
To keep ahead of your competition, you…
April 13, 2018
Checklist: 3 things to cover privacy issues when using website conversion pixels
Setting up conversion pixels are useful…
April 11, 2018
Digital Ballgame: Why A/B Testing All Day Long Works!
The more you test, the better you will…
April 9, 2018
5 Reasons Why You Need Content to Enhance the Customer Experience
Excellent content is a must for every…
April 6, 2018
Innovation is the Key to Keep Healthcare Accessible for Everyone
Saturday, World Health Day is…
April 4, 2018
The Internet of Things is Everywhere – When Do You Step In?
Many businesses still don't take…
March 26, 2018
Futurism Is No Longer a Trend; It’s a Necessity
Due to continually changing markets, it…
March 21, 2018
Transportation in 2049: Even More Awesome then in Blade Runner
Did you like the new Blade Runner…
March 20, 2018
3 Examples of Failed Commercial Performance (and What to Learn From Them)
The chain is no stronger than the…
March 19, 2018
Learn from the Best: 5 Habits that Grow Your Business (Part 2)
In the first installment of this…
March 16, 2018
Learn from the Best: 5 Habits that Grow Your Business (Part 1)
Successful individuals and companies…
March 15, 2018
Futurism: 5 Must-read Blogposts on Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain
We have curated the best blogposts…
March 14, 2018
Low-hanging Fruit: 9 Growth Hacks You can use TODAY
For real growth, a long-term strategy…
March 13, 2018
Why Big Corporations Should Partner with Digital Startups
What do the CIA, Microsoft, and…
March 12, 2018
What I Have Learned From YouTube: How to become more customer centric
YouTube is one of the biggest successes…
March 9, 2018
Futurism: 4 Trends that are Disrupting the Manufacturing Industry
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is…
March 8, 2018
Quantum Computing: The Disruption that will Disrupt Other Disruptions
The supercomputer is coming! This…
March 5, 2018
Partner Vision: Eric de Groot on Customer-centricity
“If I have a couple of CEOs in the…
February 19, 2018
3 Reasons Why Consumer Behavior is Changing (and What to Do About It)
This is not the time to wait patiently…
January 18, 2018
How 3 Classic Business Principles are Updated by Big Data
September 11, 2017
Growth and Onboarding: the 3 best tips for successful user onboarding
10 common misconceptions on writing…
February 2, 2017
3 Ways to Innovate Consistently – Without Spending a Fortune on R&D
Each industry has numerous…
January 30, 2017
Steal like Apple: 4 Perspectives on Innovation via Idea Theft
How did Apple manage to continue…
January 6, 2017
How to grow your business without the ‘Big’ in front of ‘Data’
Big Data to improve commercial…
December 12, 2016
10 Perspectives on Building a Culture of Innovation
The business case for stimulating…
December 8, 2016
How NASA is Getting Their Ass Kicked by SpaceX
For years NASA was the backbone of and,…
October 20, 2016
7 Neuromarketing Basics to ‘Hook’ New Customers
In the past, neuromarketing was limited…
September 26, 2016
10 irrational tips for writing winning proposals
10 common misconceptions on writing…