HBR On Leadership How the Best Leaders Develop and Spend “Innovation Capital”
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Dec 24, 2025 
Nathan Furr, a strategy professor at INSEAD and coauthor of "Innovation Capital," dives into the fascinating concept of innovation capital—an essential power for motivating teams and gaining stakeholder buy-in. He shares insights from leaders like Mark Benioff and explains how innovation capital can be built and lost. Through storytelling techniques used by figures like Elon Musk, Furr discusses how to amplify ideas authentically and enhance one's influence as a leader. It's a deep exploration of leadership dynamics and the art of persuasion.
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Innovation Capital Is Buildable Power
- Innovation capital is the power to convince others to support unproven ideas and bring them to reality.
- People build and lose this capital over time; it isn’t innate or permanent.
Begin Building Early And Deliberately
- Start building innovation capital early in your career by purposefully cultivating credibility and relationships.
- If you lack it later, you may need to hand your idea to someone who has more capital to advance it.
Four Pillars Of Innovation Capital
- Innovation capital comprises four elements: who you are, who you know, what you've done, and the actions you take.
- The actions to get attention are called "impression amplifiers."