Suzanne Vos studied systems engineering at Delft University of Technology before joining ING, where she helped build ING Labs — a business unit focused on partnerships and technology-driven ventures. Today, she coaches individuals and teams to launch, accelerate, and scale their businesses using agile, design thinking, and lean startup methodologies across ING's wholesale banking business in Asia-Pacific.

What We Cover

• Why innovation needs its own measurement framework (and can't share one with execution)
• How vanity metrics and hockey-stick projections undermine innovation programs
• The three-part framework: identify impact, define activities, bring it all together
• The role of menu items in making innovation actionable for individuals
• How to have the conversation with senior leadership about what "good" looks like

Timestamps
03:30 – Vanity metrics, hockey sticks, and the P&L trap
07:00 – Disruptive vs. sustaining innovation — and why the spectrum matters
11:00 – The secret blend: innovation accounting meets OKRs
16:00 – The Innovation Measurement Grid explained
19:00 – Part 1: identify the impact you want to make
21:00 – Part 2: define the activities that get you there
23:00 – Part 3: bringing it all together in a matrix

Key Takeaways

1. If innovation isn't in someone's targets, it isn't their job. The biggest barrier Suzanne found was simple: nobody had innovation written into their goals. Before any framework or tool, teams need explicit, personal targets that make innovation part of their actual work.
2. Traditional metrics are built for execution mode, not exploration mode. Revenue, ROI, and P&L are lagging indicators that measure what's already been delivered. Innovation needs metrics that track learning speed and assumption validation instead.
3. The measurement grid answers the question leadership always asks. By combining what a team is doing with what they're working toward, the grid lets leadership see whether a team is moving in the right direction — without defaulting to "when will this make money?"

Resources & Links Mentioned

• Measuring Innovation and How You Can Do It Too (article by Suzanne Vos, Female Tech Leaders magazine, July 2020)
• The Lean Startup & The Startup Way by Eric Ries

Where to Find Suzanne Vos

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/suzannevos

Where to Find Yaniv Corem
Link in bio: sleek.bio/yanivcorem
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/yanivcorem

Subscribe & Follow
If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to The School of Innovation so you never miss a conversation.
Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/5VOBVkueP7zg5ErNYtrmPL
Listen on Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-school-of-innovation/id1498420449

Have a guest recommendation or want to be on the show? Email [email protected]

For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected]