Mastering the Messy Middle: Peer Workshops on Incubation Practices

You’ve got a compelling innovation vision—but uncertainty abounds. Everyone wants a breakthrough success, yet most initiatives stall, drift, or quietly fail in the “messy middle” of the innovation process.

This workshop focuses specifically on the Incubation phase—the most misunderstood and under-managed phase of innovation. It sits between early discovery (where possibilities are explored) and acceleration (where proven business models scale). In Incubation, teams must transform technical promise or early concepts into a credible, evidence-backed business case. This is where uncertainty is highest, data is incomplete, and traditional governance systems often struggle to distinguish real progress from activity.

In this highly interactive and intimate peer-to-peer session, we’ll use a common framework to reflect on how your organization manages Incubation today. Drawing on the Discovery–Incubation–Acceleration model (adapted from Professor Gina O’Connor) and SmartOrg’s Six Vs framework, we will examine how leading organizations structure learning, reduce risk, and plan for punt/pivot/persevere decisions -- which they can make with confidence.

Participants will share common problem areas and real-world practices that work, compare approaches across organizations, and identify specific opportunities to upgrade their own incubation systems.

You’ll leave with a personalized reflection map highlighting strengths, gaps, and concrete next steps to make your incubation process more effective, efficient, and evidence-driven. And you'll instantly be a member of our practitioner community resolving to clean up the messy middle.