Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) – Innovation Strategy

This Innovation Strategy FAQ is part of a 4-part series is part of a 4-part series by RevelX on innovation strategy—designed for leaders who want to move beyond buzzwords and build a future-ready organization.

In this series, we explore:

1. Why innovation strategy matters
2. How to build one in practice
3. How RevelX integrates AI in innovation strategy
4. The most important question stakeholders ask about innovation strategy (FAQ)

Whether you’re shaping your first innovation roadmap or refining your strategic focus, this series will give you the tools and perspectives to lead with confidence.

An innovation strategy defines how an organization uses innovation to ensure long-term relevance and growth. It outlines what to innovate, why it’s necessary, and how innovation will be executed through projects, capabilities, and partnerships.

A strong innovation strategy helps organizations:

• Anticipate disruptions
• Allocate resources effectively
• Align innovation with business goals
• Embed innovation across the entire organization
• It transforms innovation from “nice to have” into a growth engine.

Based on RevelX research, the top three reasons are:

• Short-term focus over long-term vision
• Lack of awareness about external disruptions
• No ownership of innovation at leadership level

According to our benchmark of almost 1000 companies:

• Only 40% have a clearly defined innovation strategy
• Among high performers, this rises to 76%
• Low performers: only 16%

It’s a practical framework developed by RevelX that helps organizations build a complete innovation strategy. It includes six key building blocks:

• Drivers of disruption
• Innovation readiness
• Ambition & themes
• Roadmap
• Enablers
• Innovation North Star & targets

Download the canvas here and watch the on-demand webinar to learn how to use it.

While closely related, business strategy and innovation strategy serve different purposes and operate on different time horizons:

In essence, business strategy is about running the business, while innovation strategy is about reinventing it. A mature organization needs both—working in tandem—to stay relevant and competitive in the long term.

This distinction is also a core element of the RevelX Innovation Strategy Playbook.

You can use the free Innovation Readiness Benchmark from RevelX. It evaluates your innovation capabilities across leadership, culture, portfolio, and more.

We work in co-creation with client stakeholder teams, typically over 2–3 interactive workshops. We bring:

• Best practices from 100+ strategies
• External inspiration from other industries
• Proven tools like the Strategy Canvas and many more Innovation frameworks

We don’t just deliver a document—we build shared ownership and decision-making power.

AI is used to enhance, not replace, the strategy process. We use AI to:

• Analyze disruption trends and customer shifts
• Accelerate ideation and clustering in workshops
• Identify gaps in innovation portfolios
• Simulate risk/ROI for strategic projects

The result? Sharper insights, faster alignment, and more data-driven strategy development.

Technically—yes. But that misses the point. The real value lies in living the strategy process with your team: surfacing assumptions, aligning ambition, and creating ownership. AI supports that journey, but doesn’t replace human leadership.

Use the Innovation Readiness Benchmark to assess your maturity across 7 dimensions. You’ll get a personalized score, peer comparison, and concrete next steps.