🚀 Why Hackathons Can Drive Innovation Across All 3 Horizons

Planning an innovation program? You don’t need 6 months and a PowerPoint-heavy roadmap. You need a hackathon. Or three.

The next time your exec team debates how to spark innovation, suggest this:
One hackathon per innovation horizon.

Or one hackathon that tackles all three.

Let me explain.

🧠 A Quick Refresher: McKinsey’s 3 Horizons of Innovation

The 3 Horizons Framework was originally created to help organizations balance short-term results with long-term innovation. It maps innovation across three levels:

1. Horizon 1 (H1) – Core/Incremental Innovation
   Improve existing products, services, or operations.

2. Horizon 2 (H2) – Adjacent Innovation
   Extend existing capabilities into new areas.

3. Horizon 3 (H3) – Transformational Innovation
   Breakthrough, industry-shaping ideas that define the future.

While some say this model is outdated, it’s still a useful lens — especially when paired with modern, fast-paced tools like hackathons.

🎯 Why Hackathons Are Perfect for All 3 Horizons

Hackathons create a rapid, collaborative space to explore, test, and validate ideas — across the entire innovation spectrum.

Let’s break it down:

🧩 Horizon 1 – Incremental Innovation

These are your quick wins. Hackathons can help you:

• Improve internal processes

• Fix customer pain points

• Make existing tech work better

Example: A GenAI hackathon explores customer service use cases. One team builds a personalised avatar assistant that answers FAQs and nudges users through checkout. The result? A measurable lift in speed and satisfaction.

🛠️ Horizon 2 – Adjacent Innovation

This is where you stretch. You’re still close to your core offering — but adding something new.

Example: A bank hosts a hackathon to improve mobile accessibility. One team integrates voice recognition into the app, enabling hands-free banking. It doesn’t reinvent the business — but it does make it more useful and inclusive.

🚀 Horizon 3 – Transformational Innovation

This is your moonshot zone. Hackathons won't build your next unicorn in two days — but they can spark the idea that gets you there.

Example: A healthcare company runs a hackathon on patient data. A team prototypes a blockchain-based record system. It’s rough, but visionary — and leads to a longer-term project that transforms how data is shared across the industry.

🌱 Evolving the Model: From Strategy to Practice

McKinsey’s original 3 Horizons model assumed Horizon 3 innovations were years away.

Not anymore.

In the age of GenAI, no-code tools, and collaborative platforms, the speed from idea to impact has collapsed. Hackathons help you test big ideas fast — and bring back the energy that’s often missing in stale innovation programs.

Don’t underestimate what a team of employees can build in 48 hours with the right challenge and support.

💡 TL;DR

• H1? Optimise your ops

• H2? Expand your offer

• H3? Dream big, test bold
  → Hackathons help you explore all three.

Ready to Design a Horizon-Smart Hackathon?

✅ Run one hackathon per horizon
✅ Or blend all 3 in a single event
✅ Use fast formats to test ideas and engage your people

📥 Download the Hackathon Planning Checklist
📅 Or Book a Power Hour to design your own 3-horizon innovation sprint