

#34 What it takes to continuously reinvent yourself and innovate | Alexander Osterwalder (Inventor of the Business Model Canvas, 5x best-selling author, Founder & CEO at Strategyzer)
5 snips May 29, 2025
In this engaging discussion, innovation legend Alexander Osterwalder, the mind behind the Business Model Canvas, shares transformative insights from his journey as the Founder & CEO at Strategyzer. He highlights the shift from consulting to a scalable SaaS model and why CEOs must actively engage in innovation. Alex emphasizes the need for evidence-based decision-making and introduces the innovation scorecard. He also explores the importance of managing risk, balancing exploration with execution, and knowing when to kill unpromising ideas for sustained growth.
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Innovation as Fitness Training
- Innovation is like fitness training: learning, exercising, and measuring progress iteratively.
- Democratizing innovation means enabling companies to innovate autonomously without expensive consultants.
Balance Bottom-up and Top-down Innovation
- Let teams explore projects with a 3-month time limit and strategic fit as the only filter.
- Leaders must provide time, metrics, and power to kill 9 out of 10 projects for innovation to thrive.
CEO Must Prioritize Innovation Time
- CEOs must dedicate 40% of their time on innovation topics like portfolio reviews and strategy.
- They need to set governance and KPIs that support new business models and innovation autonomy.