On making the hard call

Getting very positive or negative response to an innovative idea are both very good outcomes. In case of the the former we know we should double-down and continue. In case of the latter, we have several options: abandon the idea, pivot, or test again if there is a good reason for that.

The worst response is an indifferent and inconclusive one. For example, when people don't hate the idea, but they are also not enthusiastic about it. Another example would be people claiming to like the idea, but then not acting on it. These are all examples of the innovators' limbo.

The way out of the limbo is to define success criteria well in advance. The criteria should correspond the maturity level of the idea—it wouldn't make sense to have same expectations for an idea that is currently in an exploratory stage compared to the idea that has confirmed product/market fit and is currently in growth stage.

Developing innovative ideas can have surprising twists and turns. That is no excuse to keep working on something that is not breaking out of the aforementioned limbo. That's why we should regularly check the progress against the success criteria. If there is no significant progress in twelve months, then it is time to sit down and reconsider the idea.

Corporate innovators have a high risk of opportunity costs, meaning they could be working on another, more promising idea(s) instead. Sometimes the best thing is to walk away from the gridlocked idea. If something is good, it will come back.