On Sunday, the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil was played. A month of dramatic matches and great performances showed us what it takes to succeed on football’s greatest stage. And the lessons learned there can help us succeed in business generally, and in innovation specifically.

Lesson 1: Play in a well-structured, organized way

The teams in the World Cup final, Argentina and Germany, were the best organized and most tactically disciplined teams. This secret to their success also applies to innovation projects, where many teams lose themselves in directionless brainstorming rather than follow a systematic innovation process. Just as it helps football teams win games, such a structured approach will help your innovation teams produce good results.

Questions: Do you approach your innovation initiatives in a well-structured way? What innovation process do you follow? Do you have well-defined outputs for each stage of your innovation journey?

Lesson 2: Invest in a sustainable innovation process

In their semi-final, Germany (my home country!) played Brazil and won 7–1 in the most unexpectedly lopsided game in World Cup history, setting up their win in the final. However, Germans also know what it is to fail badly, as at Euro 2000, where we exited the group stage with zero points.

In response to this disaster, Germany invested in a football system of 1,366 football centers nationwide with professional coaches who identify and develop talent. The top talent then enters one of the youth academies run by the professional teams. There, the young players are trained to be the best they can be.

This system created many technically gifted players, the best of whom joined the national team. The result of these investments is clear: in major tournaments since 2006, Germany has made it to five semi-finals, two finals — and won the 2014 World Cup.

Questions: How much do you invest in innovation processes? Do you systematically identify and develop innovation talent? Do you have a systematic approach toward innovation?

Lesson 3: There is an “I” in innovation, but no “I” in team

No matter how good your innovation process is, it’s people who fill it with life. This World Cup showed that teams that depend on one superstar to produce results mostly don’t do well. Think of Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo, Uruguay and Suárez, Brazil and Neymar, Argentina and Messi. Betting everything on one player can work — after all, Argentina made it to the final — but it’s risky. What if your star player is injured or suspended?

Football is a team sport, and so is innovation. The teams that succeed the most do so because the players combine their individual talents into a team that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Questions: How much does your success in innovation depend on one exceptional individual? What if you lose them? How can you approach innovation as a team sport?

Lesson 4: Substitute players can make a big difference

In Brazil, players that came off the bench often won their teams the game. In the Netherlands’ quarterfinal, a substitute goalie saved two penalties, winning the game. At the end of the second round, nearly one in five goals scored by all teams were scored by substitutes. And of course, the goal that won Germany the championship was scored by a substitute off a cross from yet another substitute. In innovation as in football, the best teams need, not only breadth, but also depth, of talent, because a second- or third-string player may be what’s needed to win the game.

Questions: How many people are included in your innovation initiatives? When you create an innovation team, do you make sure to have both breadth — a diverse, complementary mix of talents — and depth — multiple people with each necessary talent? Do you make substitutions in your innovation team when it will help the project?

Lesson 5: Success is cyclical

One of the favorites to win in Brazil was Spain, who had ruled the football world since 2008 thanks to a generation of talented players and their innovative “tiki-taka” style. Despite winning the previous three major tournaments, Spain was out of the World Cup after two games. How did this happen?

As with everything, football follows a cycle of creation, growth, climax and ultimate decline. In the case of Spain, other teams learned to play against “tiki-taka” and neutralize the Spanish strengths, but the Spaniards failed to adapt their game. Spain also relied too much on trusted veterans, rather than introducing fresh talent.

Business and innovation are cyclical, too. If you’ve succeeded due to a groundbreaking innovation, that’s great. But you can’t stop there. Your competitors are working hard to catch up, and while they’re doing that, you must find the next big thing, lest they leapfrog you. To do this, you’ll probably need new talent.

Questions: Who dominates in your industry? How long are your product cycles? What can you do now that will allow you to dominate your industry in the future?

© Dr. Detlef Reis 2014. This article was published in parallel in the Bangkok Post under the title “Fresh innovation lessons from the 2014 World Cup” on 17 July 2014.