Experimenting with change before it happens

Experiments are critical for innovation as they provide a way to manage uncertainty and can help prevent costly mistakes. Good experimentation is not just about individual tests and protocols but reaches well beyond, managing various sources of uncertainty in the innovation process. Collaboration with universities and research institutes, as well as powerful software, provides companies with more options than ever to create simulations and design small-scale tests. Managers often underestimate the worth of experimentation with change, and cognitive biases can lead them to refrain from evaluating changes. The costs of not evaluating changes can be high and often hidden. Altering an organization's blueprint or internal processes is the most challenging experiment of all, but innovation managers can design smooth transitions without risking a high attrition rate.