AN OLD-FASHIONED COMPANY prioritizes even highly uncertain projects based on ROI, traditional accounting, and market share. To measure success, project teams track and share numbers designed to look as good as possible (“vanity metrics”)—but not necessarily to reveal the truth. A MODERN COMPANY attempts to maximize the probability and scale of future impact. Project teams report and measure leading indicators using innovation accounting. In a for-profit context, this goal often follows Jeff Bezos’s advice to “focus on long-term growth in free cash-flow per share” rather than traditional
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