---
id: "action-zigzag-careers"
type: "action-item"
source_timestamps: ["§ How to Develop Bridgers", "¶26"]
tags: ["talent-development", "hr-strategy"]
related: ["concept-contextual-intelligence", "entity-nicole-m-jones", "concept-bridger"]
action: "Rotate high-potential employees through diverse functional roles to build holistic organizational understanding."
outcome: "A pipeline of leaders with the contextual intelligence required to bridge disparate organizational silos."
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2026/03/why-great-innovations-fail-to-scale"
source_title: "Why Great Innovations Fail to Scale"
sources: ["futures"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-futures"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-nm-102-innovations-fail-to-scale"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/03/why-great-innovations-fail-to-scale"
sourceTitle: "Why Great Innovations Fail to Scale"
---
# Implement zigzag career paths

**Action:** To develop future [[concept-bridger|bridgers]], deliberately place individuals in roles that require working across different functions, business units, or geographies. Encourage **'zigzag' career paths** and role rotations so employees gain experience in contexts with varying operating models and power dynamics, giving them a holistic, corporate-wide view.

**Outcome:** A pipeline of leaders with the [[concept-contextual-intelligence|contextual intelligence]] required to bridge disparate silos. *Exemplar:* [[entity-nicole-m-jones|Nicole M. Jones]]'s rotations through digital content, marketing, and retail strategy. Enrichment note: Hill's ABCs materials suggest bridging capability can be **distributed** across levels rather than relying on rare 'natural' bridgers.