Beyond the Core: why Corporate Venturing is a Must, not a Maybe
Key takeaways from Episode 2 of The Corporate Venturing Podcast with Philip Hague (3M)
Previously on Open Road Ventures: In the last episode of Venturing Insights, we analysed key insights from Nokia’s internal reaction to the iPhone launch. If you missed it, you can catch up here!
Innovation isn’t optional. It’s existential. And yet, many companies still treat corporate venturing like an extracurricular activity—nice to have but easy to cut when times get tough.
Phil Hague, Innovation Design Director at 3M, has a different take: Corporate venturing isn’t a distraction from the core business—it’s a lifeline to the future. In the latest episode of the Corporate Venturing Podcast, we dug into the realities of balancing innovation with business-as-usual, the power of an experimental culture, and why AI is the next big game-changer (with a healthy dose of skepticism).
Let’s break it down.
1. Corporate Venturing: A Hedge Against Obsolescence
Many executives still see venturing as a high-risk, low-return endeavor. Phil’s response? Yes, it’s risky. But ignoring it is riskier.
Companies that invest in new business models, technologies, and partnerships outperform their peers by up to 30% over a decade. Yet, short-term financial pressures often stall these efforts. The key is to separate venture investments from core business metrics—just like a well-balanced stock portfolio.
You wouldn’t abandon your long-term investments just because the market dips for a quarter. Why should corporate innovation be any different?
💡 Key takeaway: Innovation isn’t a cost center—it’s an insurance policy for the future.
2. Measuring innovation: forget ROI (at first)
One of the biggest pitfalls in corporate venturing? Forcing financial metrics too soon.
Phil argues that delaying revenue expectations allows teams to focus on the right early-stage KPIs, such as:
✅ Pipeline health: how many ideas are being explored?
✅ Kill rate: how efficiently are weak ideas being filtered out?
✅ Diversity of bets: are teams balancing incremental improvements with moonshot innovations?
💡 Key takeaway: Measure the process, not just the profits. The right ideas will find their way into the core business over time.
3. Leadership’s role: set the “Hunting Ground” and step back
Corporate venturing thrives on autonomy. But that doesn’t mean leadership should be hands-off.
Phil introduced the concept of “hunting grounds”—strategic areas defined by leadership where teams are free to experiment without constant oversight. This creates a balance between direction and independence, ensuring venturing efforts stay aligned with company goals while avoiding micromanagement.
💡 Key takeaway: The best leaders give innovation teams a playground, not a prison.
4. Culture eats strategy for breakfast: the 3M 15% rule
At 3M, innovation isn’t just a department—it’s a mindset. The company has long embraced the 15% Rule, allowing employees to dedicate a portion of their time to passion projects.
This policy has spawned some of 3M’s most successful products (hello, Post-it Notes!) and keeps employees engaged by giving them autonomy, purpose, and room to explore. Google’s famous 20% time? They borrowed it from 3M.
💡 Key takeaway: Want an innovative culture? Give people space to innovate.
5. The future of Corporate Venturing: AI, Chaos, and Experimentation
What’s next for innovation? According to Phil, AI will reshape everything—but with some caveats. While AI is becoming a powerful tool for accelerating R&D, it also introduces risks around bias, data integrity, and over-reliance on machine-generated insights.
Beyond AI, Phil is inspired by chaos theory—the idea that while we can’t control the future, every small action we take influences it. For corporate venturing, this means embracing continuous experimentation and lowering the barriers to market testing.
💡 Key takeaway: The future belongs to those who experiment fast, fail small, and learn big.
Final thought: the courage to venture
Innovation isn’t just about ideas—it’s about culture, leadership, and a willingness to embrace uncertainty.
Phil Hague’s advice to corporate leaders?
Make experimentation easy, measure progress over perfection, and give people the freedom to explore.
Or, as he put it:
👉 “Venturing is not an alternative to managing a core business. We need to do both.”
So, what’s your company’s hunting ground for the future?
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