---
id: "claim-bridgers-accelerate-scaling"
type: "claim"
source_timestamps: ["¶8"]
tags: ["scaling", "speed-to-market"]
related: ["concept-bridger", "framework-three-functions-of-bridgers"]
confidence: "high"
testable: true
speakers: ["Linda A. Hill", "Emily Tedards", "Jason Wild"]
enrichment_assessment: "Supported qualitatively by case-based, multi-firm research and repeated across Hill's publications. Empirical quantification (effect sizes) is not publicly detailed, so 'significantly' is evidence-based but not statistically specified."
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"
---
# Bridgers accelerate the speed of scaling new ideas

**Claim (confidence: high; testable).** Organizations that deliberately place [[concept-bridger|bridgers]] in key innovation leadership positions are significantly more likely to scale new ideas **with speed**. By effectively [[framework-three-functions-of-bridgers|curating partners, translating across boundaries, and integrating disparate efforts]] into a shared operating model, bridgers remove the deep-seated conflicts, hardened politics, and operational friction that typically stall or kill cross-boundary initiatives.

**Enrichment validation:** Supported qualitatively by Hill et al.'s multi-firm research and repeated across her publication ecosystem (the article, the ABCs framework, *Genius at Scale*, and Board Director commentary). However, **empirical quantification (effect sizes) is not publicly detailed**, so 'significantly' is evidence-based but not statistically specified. **Counter-perspective:** narratives may *over-attribute* outcomes to bridger leadership — e.g., [[entity-org-mastercard-labs|Mastercard]]'s market-cap growth and Delta's 90-day biometric boarding also depended on macro trends, regulatory acceptance (TSA/CBP), vendor readiness (CLEAR), and prior IT groundwork. Bridgers are best understood as **necessary contributors** within a broader ecosystem of factors.