To reignite growth, Supercell created two distinct operating models. Teams managing existing hit games adopted a 'scale-up' playbook, focusing on iteration with larger teams. Teams developing new titles operated like independent 'startups,' focused on high-risk innovation with small, agile teams.

While traditionally creating cultural friction, separate innovation teams are now more viable thanks to AI. The ability to go from idea to prototype extremely fast and leanly allows a small team to explore the "next frontier" without derailing the core product org, provided clear handoff rules exist.

Managing innovative teams requires a balancing act. While sharing resources like software improves efficiency, it creates blind spots. Leaders should intentionally foster independent 'splinter groups' to work on the same problem, ensuring critical comparisons can be made to uncover hidden errors.

A significant number of Eli Lilly's compelling inventions came from unsanctioned projects. The company intentionally provides budget flexibility and avoids micromanagement at its R&D sites, allowing scientists to pursue their curiosity.

Afeyan advises against making breakthrough innovation everyone's responsibility, as it's unsustainable and disruptive to daily jobs. Instead, companies should create a separate group with different motivations, composition, and rewards, focused solely on discontinuous leaps.

To avoid choosing between deep research and product development, ElevenLabs organizes teams into problem-focused "labs." Each lab, a mix of researchers, engineers, and operators, tackles a specific problem (e.g., voice or agents), sequencing deep research first before building a product layer on top. This structure allows for both foundational breakthroughs and market-facing execution.

Responding to Wall Street pressure to de-risk, large pharmaceutical firms cut internal early-stage research. This led to an exodus of talent and the rise of contract research organizations (CROs), creating an infrastructure that, like cloud computing for tech, lowered the barrier for new biotech startups.

Stripe's Experimental Projects Team discovered that embedding its members directly within existing product and infrastructure teams leads to higher success rates. These "embedded projects" are more likely to reach escape velocity and be successfully adopted by the business, contrasting with the common model of an isolated R&D or innovation lab.

To avoid bureaucratic bloat, organize the company into small, self-sufficient "pods" of no more than 10 people. Each pod owns a specific problem and includes all necessary roles. Performance is judged solely on the pod's impact, mimicking an early-stage startup's focus.