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description: Balance a product portfolio across core, emerging, and exploratory horizons
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# Three Horizons Framework

Manage innovation across three time horizons to balance short-term performance with long-term growth.

## Steps

1. **H1 -- Core business:** List initiatives that defend and extend today's revenue. Optimize, scale, protect margins
2. **H2 -- Emerging opportunities:** List bets on adjacent markets or business models gaining early traction
3. **H3 -- Exploration:** List moonshots, R&D, and experiments with high uncertainty but transformative potential
4. Assess **resource allocation** across horizons (common target: 70/20/10)
5. Ensure H2 has a clear **graduation path** to H1 and H3 feeds H2 pipeline
6. Review quarterly: promote, kill, or pivot initiatives across horizons

## Output Format

| Horizon | Initiatives | Investment % | Time Frame | Success Metric |
|---------|------------|-------------|------------|---------------|
| H1 - Core | [List] | [X]% | 0-12 months | [Revenue/margin] |
| H2 - Emerging | [List] | [X]% | 12-24 months | [Traction KPI] |
| H3 - Exploration | [List] | [X]% | 24-36 months | [Learning/validation] |

**Balance assessment:** [Current vs. target allocation]