Harvard Business Review

Innovation in turbulent times

Innovation requires leadership teams with both right- and left-brain skills.

By Darrell Rigby, Kara Gruver, and James Allen

First published on junho 01, 2009
min read


The full version of this article is available on Harvard Business Online (subscription required). The Idea in Brief Too few businesses have creative, rightbrain types in leadership positions. That leaves innovation especially vulnerable to unwise cost cutting during hard times. Decisions about slashing versus retaining projects are made by analytic, left-brain leaders unsuited to evaluating innovation portfolios. Partner Darrell Rigby explains how savvy companies use "both-brain" teams to succeed. The fashion industry is worth emulating: Its businesses are "both-brain," run by pairs of powerful executives with complementary-creative and analytic-styles. They are structured to support leftbrain-right-brain partnerships; hiring at all levels seeks a mix of cognitive styles. Innovation becomes a way of business life, not a marginal activity. Both-brain pairs have been found elsewhere: Apple CEO Steve Jobs and COO Tim Cook; Procter & Gamble's chief of global design, Claudia Kotchka, and CEO A.G. Lafley; high-tech engineer Bill Hewlett and business leader David Packard. Such partnerships could help innovation thrive in your business. Read the full article on Harvard Business Online. Bain Book Winning in Turbulence Learn more about how companies can navigate through turbulent times and succeed as the economy improves.

The full version of this article is available on Harvard Business Online (subscription required).

The Idea in Brief

Too few businesses have creative, rightbrain types in leadership positions. That leaves innovation especially vulnerable to unwise cost cutting during hard times. Decisions about slashing versus retaining projects are made by analytic, left-brain leaders unsuited to evaluating innovation portfolios.

Partner Darrell Rigby explains how savvy companies use "both-brain" teams to succeed.

The fashion industry is worth emulating:

Its businesses are "both-brain," run by pairs of powerful executives with complementary-creative and analytic-styles.
They are structured to support leftbrain-right-brain partnerships; hiring at all levels seeks a mix of cognitive styles.
Innovation becomes a way of business life, not a marginal activity.

Both-brain pairs have been found elsewhere: Apple CEO Steve Jobs and COO Tim Cook; Procter & Gamble's chief of global design, Claudia Kotchka, and CEO A.G. Lafley; high-tech engineer Bill Hewlett and business leader David Packard. Such partnerships could help innovation thrive in your business.

Read the full article on Harvard Business Online.