Hands-off building: when in business innovation, continuing is betting and stopping is investing

When innovation strategies start to run out, when "agile" times do not allow for a second thought, when methodologies become the "catch-all" for any progress towards innovation and action learning accumulates so much inertia that projects become automatic, it is the precise moment to pause and study again. This is what we call Hands-off building: stopping is investing, continuing without reflection is betting.

Studying is understanding, not memorizing

In innovation, studying means delving deeply into normality to uncover the true value of processes, behaviors, mechanisms, or everyday trends. This is our starting point for moving forward: to deeply understand their origin, their impact on society, and the relational system on which they depend. This way, we will find their reason for being and we can design a solid future with them.

Tools to save time in innovation

When the day-to-day innovation is debated between increasingly complex mechanisms and the lack of time for deep analysis, incomplete efforts, superficial solutions, or, as we often say, "water from a sieve" emerge. The current reality demands more than ever a genuine dedication to understanding our origin and destination. Mapping these paths from innovative practice often clashes with overly rigid structures, preventing authentic value creation and real capacity for change due to a lack of strategic reflection.

The balanced coexistence between these two factors must guide the design of the future. Any tool we use must foster a symbiotic relationship that allows for discovering and leveraging the deeper value from which to build.

Working towards the financial sustainability of businesses in Spain

According to the INE, nearly half (49.7%) of newly created Spanish companies do not survive beyond five years, and the average age of those that close barely reaches 8.7 years. In this scenario, we must resist the temptation of speed without reflection. It is vital to regain the value of conscious study to ensure a solid acquisition of value in the short term, essential for sustaining growth in the long term.

At Byld, our work with large corporations is increasingly oriented towards the balance between the entrepreneurial compass of venture building and the systemic map of strategic design. Both approaches allow us to organize the territories where we explore, building new business realities from reflection, without stopping, but always dedicating time to think about why and for what we do what we do, striving every day to do it better.