Levels of Innovation Metrics (poster)

When starting an innovation program, be clear about what you’re trying to measure. If you measure the wrong thing, it will only obscure the truth of whether you’re making progress. Successful innovation accounting requires applying the right metrics to the right categories: individuals, teams, projects, portfolios, and ecosystems. This poster by Startup Mario will help you remember to apply the right metrics to the right categories.

When to Use It

Use this poster as a reference when you are running an innovation program and need to measure the different levels of your innovation ecosystem with the proper metrics.

Who Should Use It

Our Levels of Innovation Metrics poster is useful for anybody tracking the efficacy of their innovation ecosystem. Refer to this image if you are asking questions like:

  • Is this team succeeding?
  • Is this project going to succeed?
  • How much money are we going to make?
  • Is this company good at innovation?
  • Is this person a good innovator?

How It Works

Levels of Innovation Metrics (poster) Instructions

Read through the template from top to bottom and fill out sections as you go.

  1. For new innovation programs, focus on team metrics first. As teams gain velocity, they’ll need individuals to be upskilled and their mindsets shifted. But focusing only on individuals to the exclusion of the team will just create a bunch of skilled entrepreneurs ready to leave the company and become the competition.
  2. As teams get faster and faster, it’s important to bring quantitative project metrics back in. Teams that focus too much on qualitative consumer insights can sometimes build great products that make no money.
  3. More mature innovation programs should climb up the hierarchy of metrics, focusing on portfolio and finally ecosystem metrics as they scale up.

Authors and Contributors

Tristan Kromer

Tristan Kromer works with innovation teams and leaders to create amazing products and build startup ecosystems. He has worked with companies from early stage startups with zero revenue to enterprise companies with >$1B USD revenue (Unilever, Swisscom, Salesforce, Fujitsu, LinkedIn).

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