In addition to the exploitation-type developments detailed in the first half of the chapter, the creation and effective management of a portfolio of more radical development projects that serve the future of the company leads to the emergence of ambidextrous organisations, or, in Osterwalder's words, "invincible" companies. These companies are able to manage the entire development spectrum, from exploring new business areas to exploiting existing ones. While the focus for developments in the first category is on exploration and achieving breakthroughs, the focus for the current, existing portfolio is on increasing efficiency and reducing costs and errors. There is also a significant difference in the management of development processes: while the typical philosophy for the current portfolio is linear, step-by-step, planned progress and error avoidance, development projects in the exploratory portfolio are characterised by iterative experimentation, pace, acceptance of errors, adaptation and learning from experience are characteristic. Managing the two types of innovation processes requires different characteristics and competencies from managers. The existing portfolio requires leaders who are strong in organisation and planning, who can develop effective processes to deliver on time and within budget. In contrast, managers of the exploratory portfolio are expected to tolerate uncertainty, be strong at recognising different patterns, and be able to navigate between the big picture and the details.

Development ideas that are not directly related to the company's current operations follow a specific path and require specific management methods. To develop dual capabilities, it is necessary to break with traditional thinking and make some difficult decisions. The company's management and owners must accept that they will not take the profits generated by the company, but will invest part of them in the future, i.e. in discovering innovative ideas and experimenting with new business models. In other words, it does not seek public funds to launch radical innovation activities, but sacrifices its own resources for experimentation, innovative development directions and business models. It must also be accepted that the company should not only launch individual exploratory innovation projects, but should also develop a constantly expanding and changing portfolio of innovation initiatives, which are managed in a manner that differs from its day-to-day operations and, where possible, in a physically separate manner, systematically managed by trained innovation managers and facilitators.

The projects in the exploratory innovation portfolio follow a path of search and modification (pivot), which must be continued until management has sufficient evidence that the new business idea will work. This may seem like a waste of money, but the experience of large international companies confirms that this path exists and, according to the Law of Large Numbers, sooner or later, projects with the potential for breakthroughs will emerge that can generate significant revenue for the business. In other words, the owners of large companies do not make so many mistakes or waste so much money that it is overall unprofitable for them. With this in mind, even if under more modest circumstances, small and medium-sized enterprises should also try to develop and then manage a portfolio of exploratory innovation projects consisting of a few projects as a first step. This is a learnable and well-codifiable process, the steps of which are presented below based on Osterwalder (2020).

Testing is an activity aimed at reducing the risk of ideas that seem good in theory but do not yet work in reality. Ideas are tested by defining critical hypotheses, conducting experiments quickly, and learning from experience. Hypothesis testing during testing and its results can either support or refute the business models under investigation.