In his latest book, The Three-Box Solution: A Strategy for Leading Innovation, published by Harvard Business Review (April 2016), Vijay Govindarajan provides what he characterizes as “a simple framework that recognizes all three competing challenges face that managers face when leading innovation.” That is, simultaneously managing today’s business while creating tomorrow’s and letting go of yesterday’s values and beliefs that could keep the company stuck in the past. “It’s a powerful guide for aligning organizations and teams on the critical but competing activities required to simultaneously create a new business while optimizing the current one.”

Ultimate objectives:

Box 1: Optimize the current business.
Box 2: Let go of the values and resources that fuel the current business but fail the new one.
Box 3: Invent a new business model.

“Success in each box requires a different set of skills, attitudes, practices, and leadership.”

In my opinion, the biggest challenge for leaders is to ensure that their organization coordinates initiatives that occur simultaneously in all three “boxes.” Leaders must also make certain that boxes do not become silos, functioning autonomously and independently.

In his latest book, The Three-Box Solution, Vijay Govindarajan explains HOW.