How are social enterprises innovating?
Are these organizations innovative?
What are social organizations?
Over the past few years, we observed the differences in innovation practices between market-based companies and this broad sector of social organizations. The conclusion is that the strategic innovation process within these organizations needs further exploration.
Therefore, I present a new tool for evaluating innovation in social organizations. This tool serves as a self-assessment tool and also as a checklist for improving the processes and activities that comprise the strategic innovation process. It can also be used by external evaluators or consultants. I used as a basis the tool already available on this website, used for years in companies, and modified with 12 years of experience and 9 consulting projects with ESADE Alumni Social in different third social sector organisations.

The journey from metrics overload to strategic clarity and execution excellence is not just about reducing the number of KPIs, but about fundamentally rethinking how we measure and manage change.
True competitive advantage lies not in measuring everything, but in measuring the right things at the right time to drive meaningful change.

KPIs are essential for guiding behaviour, but if used poorly, they can lead to unintended consequences. Historical examples include the “Cobra Effect” in India and a failed rat control scheme in Vietnam, where reward-based targets led to manipulation instead of solving the problem. This aligns with Goodhart’s Law: “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.”
Modern business examples like Volkswagen’s emissions scandal, Wells Fargo’s fake accounts, and Uber’s risky driving tactics show how setting rigid KPIs can drive unethical or counterproductive actions.
To avoid these pitfalls, leaders should…