Resilience by Design: Building a Culture That Powers Innovation Through Risk

Organizational resilience is a prerequisite for sustained innovation, and it hinges on the ability to take informed, calculated risks. Organizations must move beyond risk avoidance and intentionally build a culture that embraces experimentation, tolerates intelligent failure and empowers teams to learn and pivot quickly. Drawing on Research-Technology Management articles and examples from IRI member companies DuPont, Greene Tweed and James Hardie, this Innovation Research Interchange report offers concrete strategies for shifting mindsets, embedding risk awareness into daily decision-making and structuring teams and processes to support bold yet informed exploration. Whether navigating uncertain markets, accelerating sustainable product development or experimenting with new technologies, the most resilient organizations are those that treat risk not as something to be eliminated but as crucial to the innovation process.