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What Evolution Can Teach Us About Innovation

By: Noubar Afeyan and Gary P. Pisano
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Abstract

Many people believe that the process for achieving breakthrough innovations is chaotic, random, and unmanageable. But that view is flawed, the authors argue. Breakthroughs can be systematically generated using a process modeled on the principles that drive evolution in nature: variance generation, which creates a variety of life-forms; and selection pressure to select those that can best survive in a given environment.
Flagship Pioneering, the venture-creation firm behind Moderna Therapeutics and one of the most widely used Covid-19 vaccines in the United States, uses such an approach. It has successfully launched more than 100 life-sciences businesses. Its process, called emergent discovery, is a rigorous set of activities including prospecting for ideas in novel spaces; developing speculative conjectures; and relentlessly questioning hypotheses.

Keywords

Breakthrough Innovation; Variance Generation; Selection Pressure; Emergent Discovery; Innovation and Invention; Value Creation; Innovation Leadership

Citation

Afeyan, Noubar, and Gary P. Pisano. "What Evolution Can Teach Us About Innovation." Harvard Business Review 99, no. 5 (September–October 2021): 62–72.
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About The Author

Gary P. Pisano

Technology and Operations Management
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More from the Authors
  • Azenta Life Sciences: The Road to Transformation By: Gary P. Pisano and Catherine Piner
  • Woven Planet - Designing Software for the Car of the Future By: Gary P. Pisano and Catherine Piner
  • Diversification as an Adaptive Learning Process: An Empirical Study of General-Purpose and Market-Specific Technological Know-How in New Market Entry By: Dominika Kinga Randle and Gary P. Pisano
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