Built for Breakthrough

Why Innovation Fails and How Smart Leaders Get It Right

Shelli Baltman and Fiona Stevenson

Innovation isn’t optional — it’s your only lifeline in a rapidly changing world.

So many innovation projects fail, leaving behind wasted resources and crushed dreams. In Built for Breakthrough, seasoned innovation strategists Shelli Baltman and Fiona Stevenson reveal why great teams can fall victim to this innovation “curse” and how to beat the odds and succeed. This essential guide is for leaders, innovation teams, and anyone who wants to ensure their next big idea not only launches but thrives.

Innovation doesn’t have to be a mysterious gamble. Baltman and Stevenson — co-founders of the award-winning, globally recognized innovation agency The Idea Suite — demystify the pitfalls of innovation by focusing on the crucial human factors that determine success or failure. Drawing from their experience leading hundreds of projects for a global client base, the authors expose the hidden traps and recurring mistakes companies make, providing clear, actionable strategies to navigate around them. They detail their proven, proprietary “Six I’s” innovation process: Identify, Insights, Inspiration, Ideation, Iteration, and Implementation, emphasizing the need for a balance between structured methods and creative flexibility.

Filled with real-world stories, practical insights and helpful tools, Built for Breakthrough offers readers tangible returns on investment by dramatically increasing the odds of innovation success. Learn how to cultivate a resilient innovation mindset, secure genuine leadership buy-in and create organizational conditions that allow ideas to flourish. Whether your goal is incremental improvement or disruptive market change, this book equips you with the knowledge to move from concept to commercial success with confidence.

If you’re tired of seeing promising innovations fail, and you’re ready to transform your ideas into market realities, Built for Breakthrough is your indispensable guide to making innovation a predictable and powerful force in your business.

Reviews

Stop your great ideas from dying an untimely death. This book will get your best innovation out the door and making millions.

Michael Bungay Stanier author of The Coaching Habit

If you care about creating meaningful innovation inside real organizations, this book is a must-read. It provides powerful stories and practical tools to surface the insights that will move your company forward.

Alisa Cohn author of From Start-Up to Grown-Up

Built for Breakthrough is the jolt leaders need to escape autopilot and spark real innovation. It shows that breakthroughs come from human insight, not complexity, and gives leaders a clear path to energize and align their teams. Practical, inspiring, and deeply human. If you read one book to elevate creativity and performance this year, make it this one.

Kristi Herold bestselling author of It Pays to PLAY

Shelli Baltman is a seasoned innovator and strategist formerly of McKinsey & Company, Oliver Wyman, and ?What If! Innovation before becoming the founding partner and CEO of The Idea Suite. She has led over 350 global innovation programs, spanning industries from consumer goods to health care. Known for her warmth and results-driven approach, Baltman is a trusted partner to leaders navigating complex challenges and bold transformations with a focus on social impact.

Fiona Stevenson is an award-winning innovation strategist and former Procter & Gamble brand leader who transforms blue-chip giants and ambitious start-ups into unstoppable growth engines. As the founding partner and CEO of The Idea Suite, Stevenson has helped many of the world’s biggest and most respected companies invent breakthrough products, services, and brands. A magnetic keynote speaker, coach, and creativity catalyst, Stevenson is known for energizing rooms and unlocking the full creative potential of teams and leaders.

ISBN 9781774586488
$25.95 CAD • $18.95 USD
Published MAY 1ST, 2026

5.5 x 8.5 • 272 Pages
PAPERBACK, EBOOK