Innovation can’t be measured in velocity alone.
Moving fast in the wrong direction is just another form of waste.
That’s why Business is the first and most critical pillar in the ZagaLabs innovation model.
It ensures that every idea we pursue — and every product we build — is tied directly to a clear business outcome.
And just as importantly, it gives us a framework to validate early, reduce risk, and prioritize what’s worth building — before making big bets.
If it doesn’t move the business forward, and pass the test of value, it’s not innovation. It’s just activity.
From the Outcome, Backward
At Amazon, every new product starts with an unusual step: writing a press release for the launch — before a single line of code is written.
This forces teams to define:
- What problem this solves
- Who it solves it for
- Why it matters
- What success looks like
That level of clarity acts as a kind of early validation filter — exposing weak ideas and surfacing stronger ones before time and money are spent.
We bring the same approach to innovation at ZagaLabs — working backward from value and using business logic to shape what gets greenlit, scoped, and prioritized.
What the Business Pillar Actually Does
This pillar is a critical first step. Our team works with yours to ensure:
- Every initiative has measurable goals and a clear business case
- Assumptions are tested early — before build
- Projects are tied to real outcomes: revenue, efficiency, or adoption
- Teams are aligned on priorities — not just tasks
- We stay focused on value, not vanity features
By embedding this kind of front-end business validation, we help clients avoid expensive rework and put momentum behind what matters.
There Are Costs to Misalignment
When innovation isn’t tied tightly to business goals, or hasn’t been properly validated, organizations pay in all the wrong places:
- Products no one uses
- Features that don’t move key metrics
- Engineering teams building based on untested assumptions
- Strategic drift and wasted cycles
Over time, misalignment compounds.
It creates internal friction, discourages initiative, and erodes confidence in innovation itself.
Validation is the antidote — the discipline that keeps innovation accountable to impact.
We’ve All Heard the Reasons We Don’t
“We already know what our goals are.”
→ Then let’s trace them directly to your roadmap, backlog, and KPIs. Most teams have goals — but they don’t validate whether their work aligns.
“We have product managers for that.”
→ PMs are critical — but often overloaded. We reinforce the business case behind the build and pressure-test it alongside them.
“This sounds like more overhead.”
→ It’s the opposite. Validation upfront reduces false starts, scope creep, and unproductive delivery sprints.
The Market Is Moving
Across industries, the pressure to align innovation with business value is no longer optional — it’s expected.
70% of executives cite lack of business alignment as the top reason innovation efforts underperform.
— McKinsey, The State of AI, 2022
https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-state-of-ai-in-2022-and-a-half-decade-in-review
Companies that embed business-led tech transformations grow revenue twice as fast as their peers.
— McKinsey, Rewired
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/rewired-the-mckinsey-guide-to-outcompeting-in-the-age-of-digital-and-ai
75% of digital product teams will be measured by business outcomes — not delivery milestones — by 2026.
— Gartner, Future of Product Teams
https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2022-05-25-gartner-says-75–of-digital-product-teams-will-be-measured-by-business-outcomes-by-2026
In The Invincible Company, Strategyzer outlines how world-class organizations create a “dual operating system” — one that runs the core business while continuously exploring new growth engines.
These companies treat innovation as a repeatable process, not a side project — aligning initiatives to business models, customer value, and measurable outcomes.
— Strategyzer, The Invincible Company
https://www.strategyzer.com/books/the-invincible-company
More importantly, top innovators apply rigorous validation early in the process — before they commit major resources.
They pressure-test assumptions, pilot business models, and quantify expected return.
They don’t just build fast — they build with confidence.
At ZagaLabs, our Business Pillar is designed to help you do exactly that.
Closing the Gap Between Strategy and Execution
Innovation rarely fails because people don’t care or don’t try.
It fails when execution drifts away from strategy — or when no one asked the hard questions early enough.
Our Business Pillar closes that gap — with clarity, validation, and alignment baked in.
Next up: the Product Pillar — where vision meets prioritization and customer-centered design.
Let’s build smarter.
— John Duplissey