The companies that consistently outperform on growth have one thing in common: they’ve
built strong entrepreneurial capabilities. These capabilities are developed through the
practice of working on realising tomorrows business. From early stage ideas on paper to
fully fletched new business, with money in the bank. Just like individuals improve with
practice, so do organizations. By consistently working on tomorrow’s business both inside
and outside the company, they get better and better.

In fact, research shows these companies achieve an organic growth rate that’s nearly three
percentage points higher than companies that don’t take a systematic approach to
innovation.

What Sets Growth Leaders Apart

McKinsey’s global surveys on innovation, based on five years of data from over 1,100
executives, reveal six actions that separate the best from the rest. Those actions align with
our experience and practices, helping companies with strengthening their innovation
practices.

1.)  Companies must dedicate real funding to the growth. Not just peanuts, but real
budgets that can be compared to start-ups funding rounds with venture fonds. There’s a
clear link between how much you invest and the results you get. To make meaningful
progress, you must dedicate growth capital to support your Innovation Project Portfolio.

2.) A Balanced portfolio – successful companies spread their bets, balancing big,
transformative ideas with projects closer to the core business. Beginners often focus on the
transformative ideas, because they sound more innovative, but they fail more often than
not. Having a balanced portfolio means having 40-50% ideas that are closer to the core either in capabilities or market.

3.) Give you high-risk projects access to the organization’s strengths and resources,
rather than isolating them. The Corporate incentive system can have a tendency to “protect”
or shield high performing individuals from doing anything outside the job description. That
is a mistake. Work flows to those who get’s it done, so the most busy people is often those
you need in creating something new and impactful.

4.) Executive support is a classic on a list like this, but it’s still critical. Leaders need to
regularly check in, set priorities, and make sure growth efforts stay on track. Way too often,
the “disengaged middle-managers” will try to downprioritise new initiatives in order to
deliver on todays performance. Leaving the effort to build “Tomorrow’s business” in
shatters, scrambling for the resources left over.

5.) Putting the right people on the job. Too often, companies assign innovation projects as
side work. We’ve found that “self-appointed” teams — those who volunteer because they
care —perform best. With the right tools and platforms, like Nosco’s, companies can tap
into talent across the organization.

6.) Building missing capabilities is vital. Innovation is a skill that can be learned. By
training teams, you create a pool of people who know how to turn ideas into results,
embedding these capabilities into your organization’s DNA.

We have found a way, to practices intrapreneurship and build capabilities at the same time
as securing management backing and have better portfolio overview. In this way, hitting 4
out of the six action points.

Practice Makes Perfect

The more a company matures its innovation approach and practices going from ideas to
implemented solutions or new business, the more likely it is to succeed. Research shows
expert innovators are about twice as likely to meet or exceed their goals. And the companies
that can be considered “experts in building new business” enjoy significantly higher growth
rates than its peers.

At Nosco, we’ve developed the License to Innovate. It’s an applied innovation upskilling
program that works with real projects inside your organization, not just theory or
workshops. It creates a shared framework across teams and leadership, speeds up progress
on critical initiatives, and strengthens cross-functional collaboration.

Instead of theoretical exercises, teams apply what they learn directly to initiatives that
matter, whether it’s a new product, a service improvement, or a business model tweak. The
program creates a common language and approach across the organization, helping teams
move faster and smarter.

The Program Journey

To get started, the program is designed to bring the involved people together. The idea
team, the sponsors and the mangers get training on real ideas. Since its an applied learning
program, it starts with the leadership team that owns a portfolio. Toghetter, we find the
teams that should be participating in the program. They join 2 workshops. A 2 days
“shaping workshop” and a 3 days validation workshop and hands-on project support in
between and as preparation for a planned Gate meeting. The Leadership team commits to 2 half days meetings that works as portfolio and gate meetings. In the workhops, we ensure
that the projects gets into the digital portfolio system.

The program unfolds across three levels:

1. Idea Shaping: A two-day workshop where teams shape concepts, discover their
innovation strengths, and learn how to pitch their ideas.

2. Three-Month Validation: Teams plan and test key assumptions, run experiments
with customers, and report progress. Managers get coaching to lead effectively.

3. Innovation Leadership: Sponsors and leaders are trained to guide projects, make
key decisions, and align on priorities.

Why It Works

License to Innovate connects leaders, managers, and teams. It blends into existing meetings
and processes and is designed to be self-sustaining over time. The result is faster validation,
stronger cross-functional collaboration and a clear return on investment.

Where to Begin

Most companies get started in one of two ways:

By applying the program to existing projects that are high-priority, stuck, or losing
customer focus.

By launching an innovation challenge around a big, relevant business problem and forming
teams around the best ideas.

From there, teams move through idea shaping and structured validation, turning potential
into progress.

Ready to Start?

Before you begin, consider these questions: Which projects could serve as great pilots? Which business unit might be your first customer? How can you align with existing training
or innovation tools? And what barriers should you anticipate?

Final Words

License to Innovate is about empowering people. It gives employees the permission and
tools to shape the future, while giving the company a structured approach to make
innovation stick.

If you’re ready to explore how License to Innovate can unlock growth in your organization,
let’s start the conversation.