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Three Horizons: Balancing Today and Tomorrow
Allocate investment and leadership time across running today's business, scaling emerging ventures, and seeding tomorrow's.
Goal
Prevent "future burnout" that happens when today's business consumes 100% of leadership attention.
Steps
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1
Horizon 1 — Core today: businesses producing 90%+ of current revenue. Goal: efficiency and defense.
Expected Outcome
Immediate
A visual map of projects, budget, and time across the three horizons with gaps identified.
Evidence base
School: Strategic Management / Corporate Innovation
Founders: Mehrdad Baghai · Stephen Coley · David White (1999)
Coined by McKinsey team in "The Alchemy of Growth" (1999). Applied by Google's famous 70/20/10 rule and Amazon's "Day 2" framing.
Keywords
Frequently asked questions
How long does "Three Horizons: Balancing Today and Tomorrow" take?
This exercise takes about 90 minutes, practiced in a group in a Written reflection format.
When will I notice the effect of "Three Horizons: Balancing Today and Tomorrow"?
A visual map of projects, budget, and time across the three horizons with gaps identified. In the short term: Within 3 months, 10-15% budget reallocation to H2 and H3 with a dedicated owner for each.
Is "Three Horizons: Balancing Today and Tomorrow" evidence-based?
Yes — it draws on Strategic Management / Corporate Innovation (Mehrdad Baghai, Stephen Coley, David White (1999)). Coined by McKinsey team in "The Alchemy of Growth" (1999). Applied by Google's famous 70/20/10 rule and Amazon's "Day 2" framing.
Is "Three Horizons: Balancing Today and Tomorrow" suitable for beginners?
Its difficulty level is: Advanced. No external tools required — it can be practiced directly inside the app.
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