Balancing your innovation portfolio: Does the 70-20-10 rule still apply?

The 70-20-10 rule has been an industry standard for balancing innovation portfolios since it was introduced by Deloitte Partners Bansi Nagji and Geoff Tuff in 2012. However, as more leaders aim to invest more in transformational and adjacent innovations, the rule has come under question. According to Innovation Leader and KPMG's Benchmarking Innovation Impact 2018 report, the average innovation portfolio allocation for large companies is already at 49-28-23%, instead of 70-20-10%. The ideal proportion of innovation budget depends on a company's strategy, industry, and wider market. The report also highlights the involvement of different parts of the business in various types of innovation and the importance of a dedicated innovation budget pool and framework.