Innovation is not just about generating ideas but about choosing the right ones to act on. The ones worth mobilising teams for, planning resources around, and launching with confidence because they will genuinely have a positive impact on the organisation.
Venkataramani and Bartol (2025) highlight that some of the best ideas brought to decision-makers’ desks are often ignored, rejected, or misunderstood. Even in so-called innovative organisations – those that embrace change and challenge the status quo – managers often struggle to justify the disruption. Why? Because they rarely recognise the true value of novel ideas when they first encounter them.
Their research suggests that if decision-makers broadened their networks, not only within their organisation but beyond, they would be better equipped to spot promising ideas. With those broader networks, they get exposed to new ways of thinking, fresh perspectives, and examples of what others are doing. This not only increases confidence in taking bold decisions, but also helps leaders see their organisation’s strengths more clearly.
In short, one of the most effective ways to increase innovation across an organisation is by encouraging everyone, especially leaders, to build relationships across multiple levels, demographics, and sectors. Doing so strengthens both sides of the innovation equation: decision-makers become more receptive to unconventional ideas, and idea-generators become more effective at communicating and influencing (Venkataramani and Bartol, 2025).
By enabling peer networking across industries and beyond organisational boundaries, Arvoki is helping leaders develop the confidence and clarity to make bold decisions, and the influence to bring others with them. In doing so, Arvoki plays a vital role in sparking innovation and making organisations thrive.
This thinking is not limited to innovation alone. Ramírez et al. (2023) show that even at the strategy level, some of the most effective responses to complex challenges happen when people from different backgrounds and organisations come together to work it out. Through a “strategy lab” format, diverse groups were able to align on big-picture challenges, explore different futures, and come up with shared approaches that no single group could have created on their own.
That is what Arvoki taps into. It is not just about better ideas, but about building the kinds of conversations and connections that help leaders step back, see more clearly, and move forward with confidence.
References
Ramírez, R., Lang, T., Finch, M., Carson, G., & Fisher, D. (2023). Strategizing across organizations: Capitalizing on big opportunities and solving systemic problems will require organizations to come together to develop strategies as a group. MIT Sloan Management Review, 64(3). https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/strategizing-across-organizations/
Venkataramani, V., & Bartol, K. M. (2025, February 25). Why great ideas die on managers’ desks — and how to save them. MIT Sloan Management Review. https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/when-managers-fear-novel-innovations-flip-the-script/
First published on LinkedIn on May 16, 2025
