Professional innovation is 90% structure, 10% spark. And I only really understood that when I helped build an innovation unit at SIX, one of Switzerland’s leading financial infrastructure providers. This wasn’t a pet project. It was a full unit with budget, leadership support, and a mandate to build the future. But that didn’t mean it was easy. What made it work - and what still makes it a reference case in my mind - were the principles behind it. Let’s break them down.

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1. It Has a Structure - Not Just an Ambition

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We didn’t just “support innovation.” We built a machine for it:

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• Open Innovation - Partnering with startups, universities, and outside talent
• Strategic Foresight - Building future scenarios to guide long-term bets
• Innovation Project Team - Testing new concepts systematically
• Scaling Team - Growing proven ideas into business lines
• Marketing & Communications - Making the work visible internally and externally

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Each team had its lane. Each lane had clear handovers. No one was reinventing the wheel in isolation.

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Another common failure in innovation units: no one owns the outcomes. At SIX, each lane had a lead. That lead had KPIs. And those KPIs tied back to strategy. We didn’t just “foster innovation culture.” We built innovation accountability. If you want professional innovation, someone needs to be responsible for:

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• What gets tested
• What gets killed
• What gets scaled

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Without that, innovation turns into theater. Lots of buzzwords. No traction.

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2. It Feeds the Core - But Isn’t Trapped By It

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One of our key loops was strategic feedback. We didn’t innovate in a silo. We constantly asked:

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• What’s the future of this industry?
• What are we missing in our current model?
• What early signals are we ignoring?

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Then we’d test answers - and feed the results back into corporate strategy. But here’s the important bit: we were allowed to operate outside the core. If everything needs to fit neatly into today’s org chart, tomorrow’s opportunities will die in meetings.

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3. It Builds Habits - Not Just Big Bets

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Most innovation fails because it’s episodic. A few bursts of energy. A shiny prototype. Then… silence. At SIX, we made innovation operational.

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• Weekly updates
• Test logs
• Decision gates
• Visible learning

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Small steps. Constant motion. That’s how you get compounding insight - and results.

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Why This Matters for You?

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You might be thinking, “Sure, but we’re not SIX. We don’t have 50 FTEs and a foresight lead.” Fair. But here’s the good news: You don’t need all of that to start - just the logic. Even in a 10-person business, you can apply these principles:

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• Create a lane for exploring the future
• Assign clear ownership
• Run small tests, not endless debates
• Make the work visible
• Keep a feedback loop with leadership

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Professional innovation isn’t about size. It’s about structure, ownership, and rhythm. If you want better ideas, stop waiting for inspiration. Start building a system.