Beyond the Lab: Why Innovation Only Matters If It Reaches the Frontline

Across industries, innovation labs are in the spotlight—and under pressure to deliver real impact.

For years, companies have invested in dedicated teams to explore bleeding-edge tech, run AI experiments, or prototype digital tools meant to “transform the business.” The results are often impressive. The impact? Less so.

According to BCG, more than 80% of corporate innovation projects never scale beyond the pilot stage. And for those that do, adoption often stalls before they reach the people and systems they were meant to improve.

The innovation graveyard is real. And we think it’s time to ask a better question:

What would it take for this innovation to thrive in the real business—not just the lab?

The pilot is the easy part

• 📉 Over 80% of innovation projects never scale
• 📊 Only 1 in 8 pilots deliver meaningful ROI within two years

It’s rarely because the ideas lack potential. More often, it's because integration proves more difficult than expected.

Many teams—regardless of industry or sector—encounter common hurdles like:

• Siloed data and disconnected systems
• Change resistance from operational teams
• Gaps between pilot teams and core business stakeholders
• Unclear ownership after initial experiments succeed

Innovation doesn’t fail for lack of creativity. It falters when the path to scale isn’t built in.

What makes innovation stick

From our experience, innovation succeeds when organizations treat the how just as seriously as the what. That means intentionally designing for integration, adoption, and long-term viability.

Here’s where we often help teams focus:

1. Start where the value is—not just where the excitement is. The most promising ideas solve real pain points. If the teams experiencing the problem believe in the solution, you’ve got momentum that matters.
2. Bring operations in early. Building with the people who will eventually run the solution—not just the ones prototyping it—makes for stronger, more sustainable outcomes.
3. Make the system part of the scope. It’s not enough to prove that something works. If the surrounding workflows, architecture, or tooling aren’t ready, even the best solution can stall.

Three questions we ask to bridge the lab-to-org gap:

1. Who owns the change after the pilot ends? Sponsorship is critical—but so is operational ownership. Turning a good idea into a lasting capability requires both.
2. Is the system ready to absorb this? We help evaluate readiness: Are the right workflows in place? Is the data accessible? Do teams have space and support to adopt new ways of working?
3. Does this create visible value—or just internal applause? Innovation is more likely to scale when it solves a real business problem—not just when it demos well. Visible wins build trust and momentum.

Innovation is a beginning. Integration is the real challenge. We partner with organizations to bridge that gap—thoughtfully, practically, and with the full system in mind.