A study of over 300 Formula 1 race cars revealed that increased innovation can lead to poorer performance in turbulent environments. In such contexts, it is often more beneficial to prioritize stability and execution rather than jumping into innovation. The article concludes that in volatile markets, companies should let others experiment and potentially fail before making their own innovations.

1. Sometimes, Less Innovation Is Better
HBR Article By: Scott Berinato
Presentation by Satoshi Takano
cc: Leo Reynolds - https://www.flickr.com/photos/49968232@N00
https://hbr.org/2017/05/sometimes-less-innovation-is-better

2. Paolo Aversa and his
colleagues documented
every innovation on more
than 300 Formula 1 race
cars over 30 years and then
cross-referenced that data
with information on F1 race
results.
http://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/full/10.1287/orsc.2015.0984

3. They discovered that in
certain situations, more
innovation led to poorer
performance.
http://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/full/10.1287/orsc.2015.0984

4. Their conclusion: sometimes,
LESS innovation is better.http://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/full/10.1287/orsc.2015.0984

5. Why would less innovative cars
perform better?
cc: mnadi - https://www.flickr.com/photos/22965089@N00

6. If you have a complex
product, like an F1 car, and
are in a turbulent market,
your instinct might be to
innovate—to invest in
getting ahead of all the
change.
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7. But your chances of failing
are very high.
cc: gazzat - https://www.flickr.com/photos/57557325@N00

8. Often, it’s better to wait and
let others who are busy
innovating fail first.

9. For Example
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10. In 2009, F1 announced that
teams could compete using
hybrid technology.
cc: williamcho - https://www.flickr.com/photos/84493444@N00

11. Instead of investing in the
new technology, Ross
Brawn’s team just built a
really solid, basic race car.

12. With driver Jenson Button,
the team blew away
everyone racing the
superinnovative hybrid cars
and won the championship.
cc: Rego - d4u.hu - https://www.flickr.com/photos/36234195@N04

13. Once the hybrid technology
started to stabilize—once it
wasn’t so uncertain—
Brawn invested in it
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14. And rebranded itself as the
Mercedes F1 Team.
cc: Leo Hidalgo (@yompyz) - https://www.flickr.com/photos/69474058@N03

15. So, how do you know you’re in a
turbulent environment?
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16. 3 Factors
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17. One: the MAGNITUDE of change. How
much is the industry changing
compared with other times?
cc: daniel.julia - https://www.flickr.com/photos/60814789@N00

18. Two: the FREQUENCY of change. How
often are changes coming at you?
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19. Three: predictability. Can you
see changes coming?
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20. If predictability is low, and
either frequency is high or
magnitude is large, you
should scale back
innovation until things get
more stable.
cc: HALDANE MARTIN - https://www.flickr.com/photos/52634191@N08

21. If all three are working
against you, you should
innovate less.
cc: HALDANE MARTIN - https://www.flickr.com/photos/52634191@N08

22. Does this really apply to
other businesses?
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23. Absolutely.
cc: Joe Shlabotnik - https://www.flickr.com/photos/40646519@N00

24. Think of any complex product.
cc: Luke,Ma - https://www.flickr.com/photos/23249662@N03

25. Sudden changes create
instability that seem to beg
for innovation, but it’s
probably better to sit tight
and focus on execution and
efficiency.
cc: Luke,Ma - https://www.flickr.com/photos/23249662@N03

26. Think about music formats:
The frequency of change is
increasing, but it’s still not
that often.
cc: Fey Ilyas - https://www.flickr.com/photos/28968923@N08

27. Vinyl was around for
decades, CDs were around
for years. But magnitude is
massive when changes
take you from a CD to a
streaming service.
cc: jackol - https://www.flickr.com/photos/44124329962@N01

28. Apple Didn’t Invent
Music
Tesla Didn’t Invent
Electric Cars
Amazon Didn’t Invent
E-Commerce
cc: jackol - https://www.flickr.com/photos/44124329962@N01

29. Innovation-as-a-Process
• Grade each element’s
innovativeness on a scale of 0
to 3, where 3 was radical
innovation and 0 was little to
none.
• Vet it out with other
stakeholders.
cc: photographerglen - https://www.flickr.com/photos/10770008@N04

30. In SUMMARY:
Push the envelope in a
stable market, but focus on
efficiency in a turbulent
one.
cc: photographerglen - https://www.flickr.com/photos/10770008@N04

31. In a turbulent market, let
others fail first.
cc: photographerglen - https://www.flickr.com/photos/10770008@N04

32. Sometimes, Less Innovation Is Better
stakano@gmail.com
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