CHAPTER 6
Constructing Your Innovation “Portfolio”
Now that you know how the innovation process works, it is time to apply it. The first step? Figuring out the right mix of innovation efforts.
In this chapter, we show you exactly how you can correctly balance the four categories innovations naturally fall into, and receive the highest possible return on your investments.
Diversifying Your Innovation “Investments”
We chose that headline—diversifying your innovation investments—for a reason. Innovation and financial planning have a lot more in common than you might think.
When it comes to how you divvy up your personal investments, you have always (correctly) been told that they should be spread among asset classes (stocks, bonds, and cash) and then diversified further within the classes themselves. For example, you might hold stocks in both foreign companies and domestic ones, shares of small retailers and big high-tech companies, and every member of the S&P 500.
Stop for a second and answer this question: How much money do you have? Good. Now answer a second question: Do you know exactly where it is invested right now? Now the tough one: Have you balanced your financial portfolio recently (moving money from stocks into bonds; cash into stocks; whatever)?
Whether the answer is yes or no, the fact that you can even answer the question means that you have an idea of how much money you have and how you have it invested it. That’s always a good thing.
So, here is a similar line of ...
