5. In most cases, small budgets for core staff and some operating expenses come through annual budgeting processes, (in a few cases, from the strategy function or R&D), with more extended efforts funded by business units. • The head of innovation at a large financial-services firm explained that beyond his core team’s funded HR cost, “getting the buy-in from all the different businesses is the recurring challenge. Any initiative in terms of innovation has to come from the businesses – they have the budget.” , and more likely to have risen up internally, reflecting the shift toward a service-and-exploration agenda, compared to the larger points of emphasis on disruption, business-model change, and organizational change. We found successful leaders clustering into four main groups, as follows: • AXA, Vertiv, Top Build, KPMG, HP (prior to shift), The Coca Cola Company, UM Health System. • HSBC, DFW, Salesforce (new iteration), UAB Medical Center, SAP • Bloomberg, Salesforce (prior to shift), JLL, Microsoft, Harley- Davidson, HTC • Nationwide, Humana, Centene, Vertiv, HSBC , CIO, Chobani “For many of us, 2024 will be a year of cautious experimentation while managing the downside risk of unintended outcomes from pushing too hard, too fast.”