Three-Horizon Innovation Timeline

1  Slide Type Name
Three‑Horizon Innovation Timeline

2  One‑Sentence Purpose Statement
Helps leaders see “what we are doing now, what we are incubating next, and what future bets we are placing” by plotting initiatives along McKinsey’s Three‑Horizon framework.

3  Visual Description (Designer Instructions)

• Divide a 16 × 9 slide into three horizontal, equal‑height bands, one for each horizon: Horizon 1 — Core / Near‑Term, Horizon 2 — Emerging / Mid‑Term, Horizon 3 — Options / Long‑Term. Tint each band with a distinct, but muted corporate colour (e.g., navy, teal, lavender).
• Run a common time axis (quarters or years) across the top edge; align the left edges of all three bands to this axis.
• Inside each band, place initiative blocks (rounded rectangles) at their start date, sizing them to represent duration through the time axis. Label each block with the initiative name (9 pt bold) and, if space permits, a short descriptor.
• At the right‑hand side of every block, add a small milestone diamond for the next major decision gate (e.g., MVP launch, scale‑up approval). Connect cross‑horizon dependencies with thin, dotted arrows if needed.
• Optionally overlay a vertical “Today” line that cuts through all horizons so audiences can distinguish active vs future initiatives.
• Keep ample white space between blocks and between bands; limit to 4‑6 blocks per horizon for clarity.
• Reserve the top 15 % for a concise headline plus a colour‑key legend that decodes the three horizons of labels inside the bands are crowded.
• Use a sans‑serif font; horizon headings 12 pt bold left‑aligned inside each band, initiative labels 9 pt, timeline labels 10 pt.

4  Business Questions This Slide Answers

• Do we have a balanced innovation portfolio across Horizons 1, 2, 3?
• When will each emerging or long‑term initiative graduate to the next horizon?
• Are near‑term projects crowding out longer‑term bets—or vice versa?
• Which initiatives require decisions soon (next milestone diamonds)?
• How does today’s resource allocation map to short vs. long‑term growth?

5  When to Use (Typical Situations)

• Strategy workshops assessing innovation pipeline
• R&D, venture, or corporate‑development reviews.
• Executive off‑sites debating resource shifts from core to new growth.
• Investor communications about growth beyond the core business.
• Portfolio‑management dashboards within an innovation PMO.

6  Core Data Fields Required

• Initiative title and assigned horizon (1, 2, 3).
• Planned start and finish dates for each initiative.
• Key milestone / decision‑gate date.
• Current date (“Today”) marker if highlighting status.

7  Optional / Advanced Data Fields

• Expected revenue or NPV per initiative (numeric badge on block).
• Owner or squad initials in a corner of each block.
• Stage‑gate status (color of milestone diamond: green = approved, amber = pending).
• Confidence or TRL (technology readiness level) indicator.
•  Capacity heat‑map overlay showing resource peaks within each horizon.