Leader Analysis

Innovation has become one of the most overused words in business, but for leaders it is not a slogan. It is a discipline. James MacGregor Burns once wrote that innovation requires leaders willing to tolerate the erratic sparks that produce breakthroughs, legitimize the conflict that provokes creativity, and even nurture ideas that threaten their own power. The challenge for executives today is clear: how do you lead in a way that results in real innovation?

Looking across industries—from luxury cruises to agriculture, from beer to quantum computing—we see examples of both success and failure. The lessons fall into three themes: creating value through innovation, exercising discipline about where and how to innovate, and keeping an eye on the horizon for forces that will reshape the business.

Innovation as Value Creation

At its heart, innovation is about value. Viking Holdings, the luxury cruise operator, proves that the breakthrough is sometimes in delivery, not invention. Viking stripped away casinos, kids’ clubs, and gimmicks, and instead built cruises around lectures, classical music, quiet pools, and consistent ship design. The result? Ticket prices at $800–$900, and revenue per passenger two to three times higher than rivals. By innovating in delivery, Viking turned simplicity into a competitive edge.

Agriculture demonstrates this principle on a global scale. In 1924, U.S. farmers harvested more acres than they do today. Yet by 2024, yields had soared 729% thanks to biotech seeds and resilient crops. Brazil, meanwhile, has harnessed agricultural technology to become a leading exporter of corn and soy. These gains didn’t just improve profit margins—they improved lives, proving that innovation can be a form of public service.

In consumer markets, the story is the same. The beer industry once looked unshakable, but younger adults are moving toward canned cocktails, THC-infused drinks, or away from alcohol altogether with the help of drugs like Ozempic. While giants like AB InBev struggle, the Kelce brothers’ Garage Beer has grown into a $200 million brand by tapping cultural relevance and younger audiences. Spirit Airlines offers the counterexample: its once-disruptive no-frills model was easy to copy, and with no new value to offer, the company has filed for bankruptcy twice in a year. The contrast is clear: innovation sustains only when it continuously adapts to what customers want.

Innovation Requires Discipline

True leadership in innovation also requires knowing where not to innovate. Paramount’s decision to call employees back to the office five days a week underscores this point. Remote work felt like a breakthrough, but some companies found it eroded collaboration. Leaders must measure whether new practices actually create value or just look innovative.

Mergers and acquisitions highlight the same problem. Warner Bros. Discovery, Kraft Heinz, and Kellogg all pursued big deals that saddled them with debt and distracted them from customers. Warner Bros. Discovery alone took on $50 billion in debt and saw shares fall 60%. These were not failures of ambition but failures of focus: executives mistook financial engineering for innovation.

Alibaba offers both sides of the coin. In its cloud business, it is producing cutting-edge AI models and chips, positioning itself as a global technology player. But in food delivery, it is trapped in a price war with Meituan and JD.com, burning resources on discounts that erode value. Leaders must decide: are we building better offerings, or just fighting to be cheaper? Discipline in innovation means investing where you can create lasting value and walking away from distractions.

Innovation Means Looking Beyond Today’s Core

Finally, innovation leadership demands foresight. Leaders cannot just refine today’s model; they must prepare for tomorrow’s shifts. IQM Quantum Computers, founded in Finland in 2018, is now valued at $1 billion after a $320 million investment from cybersecurity firm Ten Eleven Ventures. The reason is simple: quantum computing could one day crack today’s encryption, redefining cybersecurity altogether. By investing early, Ten Eleven Ventures chose to shape the future rather than be blindsided by it.

This principle applies to every industry. Social changes, generational preferences, and breakthrough technologies will all reshape markets. Leaders who keep scanning the horizon—like Ten Eleven Ventures—gain visibility and influence. Those who don’t risk being caught unprepared.

The Practice of Innovation Leadership

Leading innovation is not about chasing every shiny object, nor about financial maneuvers disguised as progress. It is about three disciplines:

• Create real value: like Viking, farmers, or Garage Beer, deliver offerings that adapt to what customers and society need.
• Exercise discipline: resist the temptation of hollow change or financial engineering, and focus on where innovation actually creates value.
• Scan the horizon: anticipate the technologies and shifts that will redefine your industry, and act early to shape them.

The examples of Viking, American agriculture, Garage Beer, Spirit Airlines, Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery, Alibaba, and IQM provide a simple conclusion: innovation leadership is a balancing act of creativity and restraint, always tied to value.

The true measure of a business leader is not whether they can talk about innovation but whether they can guide their organization to create it in ways that last. Innovation, in the end, is not just about the new—it is about creating the better.