The Breakthrough Manifesto: Ten Principles to Spark Transformative Innovation

By Kim Christfort and Suzanne Vickberg

Building a Better Path to Breakthrough, By Design

Innovation is a process by which new ideas, services, and sources of value are brought to life. Yet approaches to the pursuit of innovation are often far from novel, relying on stale methodologies applied against well-defined problem sets. Or worse, left to hope or happenstance.

Transformative innovation requires something else. Not just methodologies, but mindsets. Not just focusing on known challenges, but on unknown opportunities. Not just hoping for breakthrough by default but realizing breakthrough by design.

In The Breakthrough Manifesto, a renowned business innovation leader teams up with a social-personality psychologist to offer that something else—a collection of 10 visionary principles to obliterate barriers to change and ignite a whole new level of creative problem-solving. Drawing upon decades of experience working with the world’s best-known organizations and their teams, the authors provide practical advice that goes beyond “business as usual” for successfully tackling intractable challenges.

Bursting with behavioral science, stories from the field, and pragmatic strategies, The Breakthrough Manifesto explores why these principles are critical for the current times and how they can spark breakthrough and unlock potential for you and your teams. Whether you’re an executive or manager, product or service designer, educator or student, this book is a must-read for anyone inspired to change the world or transform their own place in it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wiley
• Release date: Oct 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9781394207046

Book preview

THE BREAKTHROUGH MANIFESTO

10 PRINCIPLES TO SPARK TRANSFORMATIVE INNOVATION

KIM CHRISTFORT

SUZANNE VICKBERG

Logo: Wiley

Copyright © 2024 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data

Names: Christfort, Kim, 1974‐ author. | Vickberg, Suzanne, 1971‐, author. | John Wiley & Sons, publisher.

Title: The breakthrough manifesto : 10 principles to spark transformative innovation / Kim Christfort, Suzanne Vickberg.

Description: Hoboken, New Jersey : Wiley, [2024] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2023026401 (print) | LCCN 2023026402 (ebook) | ISBN 9781394207039 (cloth) | ISBN 9781394207053 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781394207046 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Organizational change—Management.

Classification: LCC HD58.8 .C487 2024 (print) | LCC HD58.8 (ebook) | DDC 658.4/06—dc23/eng/20230905

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023026401

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023026402

Cover Design and Image: Emily Hung Wilson

To our motley Deloitte Greenhouse crew and alumni, who have been the inspiration and the engine behind this book

Welcome to Breakthrough

We believe in breakthrough. Not so much the random unicorn kind that might meander across your path (though we're all for that). But even more so the hard‐earned variety that comes when you open your mind, dig deep, and lean in. The type that requires you to embrace and to rise above your humanness.

But what is breakthrough, really?

Breakthrough is what enables people to create better versions of themselves and the world around them. It is the array of energizing injection points on the timeline of progress and the catalyst of step change transformations. Breakthrough is a way of thinking that opens eyes to new possibilities and a way of acting that converts that potential into impact.

History is replete with stories, perhaps exaggerated, about sudden moments of inspired breakthrough. Newton's insight into gravity after an apple fell on his head. Einstein's dream of a falling man inspiring the theory of relativity. Archimedes's naked run through the streets shouting Eureka after he made the connection between mass and water displacement while in his tub.

These scientific discoveries are certainly one type of breakthrough. But what about the stories of challenges overcome in defiance of the standard? For instance, the design school team who took on the challenge of infant survival rates in low resource environments by building a baby warmer that costs less than 1% that of a traditional incubator.¹ Or any of the miracle athletic wins, when records are shattered and context overcome, like two‐time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin, who broke her own world record in the 400‐meter hurdles four times in a 13‐month period. These, too, are types of breakthrough.

Over the past decade working with thousands of executives and their teams in immersive Deloitte Greenhouse® experiences, we've witnessed these kinds of breakthroughs with many moments of sudden inspiration and numerous challenges overcome. But we see another kind of breakthrough as well, unique in that it stems not from an obligation to address a specific existing problem but rather a desire to anticipate and act on emerging issues and needs. This is breakthrough that happens when people decide to step outside the comfort of the status quo to ask, What if … ?, enabling new opportunities to blink into existence and eventually take flight.

This sort of breakthrough is essential, particularly in this current moment. Around the world foundational beliefs and behaviors are shifting rapidly and simultaneously across societal, political, and economic arenas. Rapid advances in technology are driving entirely new worlds of opportunity with the potential for great benefit but also great harm.² Traditional optimization and innovation approaches can fall short in this environment. Instead, organizations need a different way of thinking that helps to imagine and shape the future and effect transformational change.

At their core, each of these breakthrough definitions shares a dramatic shift from before to after. And although breakthrough with widespread implications might be the kind making news headlines, we've also seen that breakthrough can be highly personal. That fear you had that you overcame. That realization you had that transformed your thinking. Moments of accomplishment or insight that might not have changed the world, but that changed your world. Because breakthrough ultimately is about significant positive change—period.

We think of breakthrough in terms of its two central aspects, inherent in the name:

BREAK – obliterating barriers and obstacles that stand between you and the place you're trying to get to on the other side

THROUGH – not just leaving things broken, but rather creating momentum to successfully transition between the from and the to

To achieve breakthrough, you must first realize that there's a problem or opportunity relative to your current state. Then, you must figure out what's getting in the way and how to deal with that, and you must build the impetus and drive to achieve the desired change. Breakthrough is process and product, and the journey to breakthrough can be as significant as the destination itself, because you rarely get the latter without the former.

In spite of its importance and impact, we've found that the process of getting to breakthrough isn't standard fare for most individuals and teams. It requires a certain type of mindset and thinking that spurs you to engage with the world differently. After years of research and working with executives in the field, we have found that there are specific principles and techniques that, when applied with intention and regularity, can enhance your chances of getting to breakthrough. And that is what this book is all about.

An illustration of the 10 Breakthrough Manifesto Principles.

Based on more than a decade of work with individuals, teams, and organizations, the Breakthrough Manifesto codifies 10 principles that underpin everything we do in the Deloitte Greenhouse to help our clients and ourselves achieve breakthrough.

This two‐part book brings the Breakthrough Manifesto to life with research, behavioral science, stories from the field, and practical strategies. It addresses why these principles are needed and why they work, and it offers pragmatic, straightforward methods for implementing this way of thinking in day‐to‐day life to effect positive change.

Because these principles are core to what we do in the Deloitte Greenhouse, it's perhaps not surprising that this is a business book, based on years of business experience and research, written for business practitioners and their teams. That said, similar to many human‐centered insights, our findings and recommendations for breakthrough thinking can apply beyond the work domain. And similar to many such insights, the more you build your breakthrough thinking muscles in one domain, the more you might find those muscles flexing in other aspects of your life. So, in that spirit, although much of this book focuses on workplace examples, we will also call out specific personal applications in each chapter and hope you'll be inspired to think of others on your own.

After reading this list of principles you may think that you are already doing many of these things. Indeed, we asked 9,500 professionals from more than 1,000 companies around the world whether they're living these principles, and the majority said they are—different principles to differing degrees. And yet, those same professionals also shared that they don't believe their teams embrace the principles to the same extent. Because teams (who apparently aren't embracing the principles) are made up of individuals (who claim they are), someone must be over‐ or underestimating some behaviors somewhere.

Although this difference in perception of one's own versus others' behaviors likely stems from a shared superiority illusion³ (whereby people tend to think they, individually, perform above average in a variety of different ways), our research does show differences in perceived breakthrough mindedness based on working style, industry, and even maturity of a team (e.g., short‐term project teams claim to use more of the principles, and more permanent teams representing a department or division use fewer). And there are also differences in degree of adoption for some principles compared to others, with the largest proportion of professionals claiming they're making change, and the smallest proportion claim they're getting real or checking their edge. Overall, however, we've seen that although many people and teams have good intentions, they often don't incorporate breakthrough thinking into their day to day lives. They lack daily habits and practices to build muscle memory for catalyzing and promoting innovation. And although that may not pose a challenge for some efforts, when it comes to promoting innovation that effects significant positive transformation—real breakthrough—ad hoc approaches fall short.

That's why this book doesn't just explain the different principles behind the Breakthrough Manifesto but also offers specific methods for how to create breakthrough‐friendly environments, prime your brain for breakthrough thinking, spark breakthrough ideas, and generate momentum to bring breakthroughs to life. Each chapter in Part 1 explores one of the 10 principles, and then the corresponding sections in Part 2 provide a field guide of related methods for you to try on your own or with your teams to boost your breakthrough thinking. It's designed to be a resource that you actively use in your daily life, versus browse and tuck away on a shelf. These methods can serve as a starting point for you to add to and annotate with your own breakthrough ideas as you experiment on your own. And experiment we hope you will.

It won't always be easy. Breakthrough isn't for the faint of heart. It requires bravery, authenticity, and sweat. Throughout the process you'll be asking yourself and others to think differently, share openly, and act boldly—practices that require cognitive agility, psychological safety, perceived value and impact, and healthy group dynamics, among other things. Throughout the book we'll share tips for how to overcome potential barriers and create environments that promote breakthrough thinking.

At the end of the day, we believe the effort is worth it. Improving your breakthrough thinking enables you to broaden horizons, unlock stale thinking, and seed fresh ideas, creating paths to meaningful impact at scale. And we suspect you'll find, as have we, that it's not just about reaching a specific destination; even the journey itself makes a difference.

An illustration of Our Barriers to Breakthrough Study.An illustration of a cover page with the striked text.An illustration of chapter 1.

In many ways, these are mistrusting times. Fake news, scams, and hoaxes have littered the past decade. So perhaps it's not only understandable, but even healthy, to maintain a general air of skepticism. To doubt. To question. To dismiss. Some might even view such behavior as a sign of intelligence; poking holes in things can seem insightful whereas postulating possibilities can come across as naive.⁶ Indeed, research suggests that people often perceive skeptics to be cognitively superior. This despite studies demonstrating precisely the opposite.⁷ It's no wonder then that the skeptic can have such a powerful voice in our world and in our workplace.

But although healthy skepticism plays an essential role in effective evaluation and decision‐making, cynicism, its negative cousin, can be toxic. Perhaps you've seen this less desirable orientation play out in your teams or organization. The blunt naysayer shutting down discussion with a dismissive, That will never work. The snide Goldilocks sidebar chats undermining an idea for being too much, or too little, but never just right. Or perhaps even that critical narrative in your own head whispering, There's no way you can do this. Unfortunately, this kind of negativity can be contagious and counterproductive, particularly for breakthrough thinking.

At this point you may be wondering (with, we might add, healthy skepticism), "Now wait a second, am I just supposed to stop thinking critically and not say anything, no matter how ridiculous the situation? The answer is no. Indeed, in order to get to breakthrough it is essential that you apply keen reasoning and judgment, speak up to question assumptions, and share your perspectives. It's just a question of when and how. Silence your cynic is about making room for ideas to take shape and germinate. It's about suspending disbelief and assuming anything's possible. Our other Breakthrough Principles get into how you can prune those ideas later.

As you will see throughout this guide, the 10 principles of our Breakthrough Manifesto are designed to work in combination, but they don't need to be used all together, or at the same time. This way of thinking requires agility to apply the principles in specific moments to increase your probability of getting to breakthrough. And it's hard to get to breakthrough if you don't at least start with an open mind. That's why straight out of the gate we clear the path for breakthrough by tackling the toxic effects of cynicism head on. If you look closely, you'll see cynicism can result in death to innovation, saying bye‐bye to diversity, and placing shackles on the mind.

An illustration of stories from the field.

Toxic Effect 1: Death to Innovation

Did you ever hear that story about the amazing idea that was dismissed too quickly and thus never changed the world? Right. Breakthroughs are more likely to arise in open environments where ideation produces a high volume and diversity of ideas.⁸ Especially in the initial stages of idea development, it's essential to create a positive, unconstrained environment that encourages imaginative meanderings, random associations, and outlandish what‐ifs so you can move beyond the obvious ideas to the truly creative ones. Being overly critical too early in the process isn't just a buzzkill, it can be a barrier to discovering and unlocking new opportunity spaces.

Some organizations send their executives to improvisation classes, and there's a good reason for that. The classic Yes, and … technique encourages people to build off one another's ideas, however ridiculous, rather than shutting them down with a No or That doesn't make sense or What the heck are you thinking? It may seem like fun and games but following a seemingly bizarre thought can lead down a path